The Girls Of Ki-Rin Academy
by herondalefan
Summary: Eight girls go through the trials of Tennis and romance throughout the season this year. OCXVarious Players. Is humorous but has darker themes.
1. Chapter 1

Alright now, this is a fanfic that's very dear to me but has a lot of OC's so if you don't like OC's then I suggest leaving right now. I love OC team fic's for POT and a lot of them on here are done really well. But I saw that none of them had team fics where the characters dated guys from more than one school. So I decided to make an OC school for girls that would allow me to create many different relationships. If you notice any characters that are close to yours please don't take offense and track me down. Think of it more as I took your character and molded it with some of my ideas. This is the prologue so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis only the OC's. If I did Ki-Rin (pronounced Key-Rin) Academy would exist.

~~~~~~~LINE BREAK~~~~~~~

If you are female and are serious about tennis then there is only one place to go. Sure Seigaku, Hyotei and Rikkai Dai among other schools have fabulous tennis programs but the fact remains that their good teams are _male._ The female teams are poor excuses for such a thing since they are almost completely filled up with rabid fan girls waiting for their chance to pounce on the defenseless yet shamelessly good-looking men. Their locker rooms look like shrines for various players and the girls stare at them while their supposed to be practicing. If anything the tennis team girls are scarier than the ones cheering the boys on at their courts. And so the only place left for tennis loving girls not completely controlled by their hormones is Ki-Rin Academy for Exceptionally Talented Young Ladies. More commonly known as Ki-Rin Academy. These girls are from various social classes all with a common bond. Their devotion to various activities. Some girls go there for the excellent music department while others might go for the science club. Every young lady admitted has some devotion (or obsession, whatever floats your boat) to one of the extra curricular activities there. But the most "exceptional" program is still the tennis club. The academy has been winning nationals now for fourteen years and this year's team seems to be the best yet. Every female has their own backstory but tennis what connects them. Now let us see a practice in the normal day of a Ki-Rin regular.

Kanari:

Today, like everyday, I was walking towards the tennis courts with my best friend Mei (also a regular) when suddenly she saw Tsuki (another regular). And today, like everyday, she suddenly jumped our kohai and hit her upper back with her racket screaming at the top of her lungs "WARUI SHISEI!" I have never understood Mei's obsession with posture and manners and I love her to bits but even I half to admit that she takes it a little far. Her and Tsuki seem to have an extreme dislike towards each other. Not that I can blame the little freshmen because I wouldn't like getting hit in the back with a racket either but Tsuki was the one to start the feud.

Maybe I should explain a bit more thoroughly. Tsuki has a particular love of pulling pranks and the first one she pulled when she got here was on Mei. The second year blunette was not happy and she chewed the young brunette out not about the prank (which was rather ingenious) but on how unladylike it had been. Ever since Mei has gone out of her way to correct the "sadly misguided girl" and Tsuki has been exchanging favors with our resident sadist Ven for blackmail. Anyway back to the fight.

"Are you planning to end my tennis career early Hag-senpai?" Tsuki asked. Her silver eyes narrowed dangerously while Mei's onyx ones flashed.

"Do you want a bent back when you're older?! You should be thanking me!" Tsuki's eyebrows rose dangerously.

"Thanking you! You hit my back with a racket and that will cause a bent back! I think you're just jealous that I'm a better counter puncher than you!" She spat.

Mei smiled coldly and said "Don't you try me you little brat!" It was time for me to step in.

"Please you two stop fighting. You are both excellent tennis players so why do you need to fight about who's better?" I sometimes didn't understand what reared up in Mei when it came to the freshmen. She was generally nice and relatively laid back (except for the manners thing) and pretty quiet but Tsuki seemed to bring out the worst in here. Plus that smile creeped me out.

"NO!" They screeched in unison, their eyes bugging out making them look demented. I cringed. The two started bickering again as we made our way to the courts. I prayed for a release from the madness of these two. It came just not in the form I wanted when we reached the sunny outdoor courts.

"YUKIMURA! FUJI! FUYU! 20 LAPS FOR BEING LATE!" Ruka-buchou yelled at us. I let out a soft sigh and put my stuff down on one of the benches. I had unearned laps to run.

Kitimo:

I was warming up when I saw Mei-chan, Kana-chan and Kiki-chan enter the courts and get yelled at. My poor little kohai's, Ruka-buchou was really scary when she was angry. Kiki-chan and Mei-chan has probably been fighting again so I didn't get why she had to punish my sweet tempered doubles partner.

Kana-chan and I have been doubles partners since she was just a little freshman. Well she was never little. I mean she's like 5"10 and I'm the third shortest on the team. I was a regular last year too and I was the shortest! The only ones who are smaller than me are the two freshmen! But my Aniki is one of the shortest on his tennis team too so its not like I'm the shortest in my family or anything. We're actually the exact same size but that's probably because we're twins. He's older by six minutes! The two of us act a lot like each other though. We both LOVE cake and are energetic when we want to be. We can even do the talking in unison thing!

I was done my stretches and skipped over to Ruka-buchou twirling a piece of my cerise hair. I peered at her, blinking my dark lavender eyes innocently.

"How are you today Ruka-buchou?" I questioned cutely. She turned to me and a charming smile broke out on her face immediately followed by a pout.

"Kit-chan I thought I told you to call me Ruka-chan!" she insisted. Her light lavender eyes twinkled and she played with a loose strand of her tan hair that had come out of the ponytail at the base of her head. "I'm doing magnificently today as always. It _is_ I!" She exclaimed. I grinned back at her. Ruka-chan was really fun when you weren't breaking any of her tennis rules. She was strict about tennis but most of the time she was really nice and goofy (albeit a bit self centered but she is called the "Queen" for a reason). "How are you Kit-chan?!" She enthused. My grin got bigger.

"Wonderful of course! We're playing matches today!" I started jumping up and down excitedly. Ruka-chan laughed

"Alright then, Yukimura, Fuji and Fuyu should be almost done their laps now so lets start!"

"According to their past records they should have one more lap left to run."

Ruka-chan and I both jumped when Reina-chan appeared out of nowhere. "Lucifer's daughter"(oh, so aptly named) smirked at our fright and looked over my shoulder at someone. "It seems Echizen and Kyoko have finished their stretching too." I turned around and indeed Marika-chan and Ven-chan had finished their stretching. Those too are so flexible! Marika-chan can touch her toes to the back of head and Ven-chan can actually get her legs on her shoulders! Ven-chan bounced over to us in her usual energetic fashion.

"Hello everyone! How are you today? I'm doing wonderful! Are you guys excited to play matches today or what? I know Mimi-chan and I are!" The vibrant red head held up her scarily obese bunny. The thing was the size of a jackrabbit but it's size was due to it's fat. It was completely cute though. I cooed at the sight of it.

"Good afternoon senpai-taichi…" Marika said softly. Her curtain of long blacky green hair was in a braid over her right shoulder and her soft gold eyes seemed to pierce through your soul. She was a tragically beautiful second year that was nicknamed "Dark Angel". Her tennis and looks explained the name quite well. She also antisocial to the extreme.

Ven had wavy, coppery, red hair that fell just past her shoulders but was usually in pigtails on the sides of her head. She had HUGE sapphire blue eyes that sparkled. Well she looked like that when she was in _this_ form. There was that other side…

"Good morning young kohai!" Ruka-chan smiled. Reina-chan just lifted an eyebrow at the greeting and I cuddled with the rabbit. Finally Mei-chan, Kana-chan and Kiki-chan ran over so we could start practice. Ruka-chan led us in a few more warm up exercises and the fans started to gather.

Marika:

"Alright! First things first! Lets go over the matches and why you're playing the person you are." Ruka gave Reina a significant look and she cleared her throat.

"The first match is Fuyu vs. Hirimono. Both of you are aggressive baseliners with your own special moves so this should be a good match." Reina finished her explanation with a creepy smile. I winced; she might seriously be Lucifer's daughter.

"YAY! GO BUCHOU! GO KANA-CHAN!" Ven and Kit screamed. Which was about the same thing the fan boys and fan girls were yelling. They were seriously getting on my nerves. Only Ven hates them more than I do. When she's acting like her true self she always gives them this look that makes them want to dig their own grave. Both Kana and Ruka positioned them in front of the net.

"Rough or smooth?" Ruka asked.

"Smooth." She spun it and it landed on rough.

"First serve Hirimono." Reina called. Ruka smirked and tightened her grasp on the ball. She walked back to the baseline and got in place.

"I'm not going easy on you Fuyu." She called. Kana flipped her long white hair over her shoulder and her ice blue eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." And so the match began. Ruka and Kana hit fierce balls that would make a normal guy pee his pants. Ruka has extremely overwhelming tennis. She attacks fiercely with hard to reach balls and has a bad habit of taunting her opponent. Kana is a mix of an aggressive baseliner and a counter puncher. Her nickname is "Lady in Waiting" for a reason. Not only is she rather elegant in the way she plays but she also has patience to the extreme. She has to have it in her and Kit's special play. Kana can return any ball because she is rather fast, and then she waits until her opponent's guard is down then attacks fiercely. The score was 3-2 in the favor of Kana now. Ruka may be a fierce attacker but she starts to lose her confidence when she starts to lose. Kana's technique of waiting then striking doesn't help the case either. In the end though Ruka fought harder than before adding more power (and anger) to her shots and managed to win 7-5.

"Forever Victory!" Ruka yelled sticking her racket up in the air and striking a pose. She reminded me slightly of one of Ven's childhood friends that she had once introduced me too. What was his name again… Dioge… Hitabe… Atobe! That's what it was! Atobe Keigo was his name. He's a little like Ruka when it comes to attention. He probably has more girls then guys screaming his name though… he could have guys for all I know… Ruka struck another pose and smiled charmingly at the boys standing there. They looked rather love struck.

"I LOVE YOU RUKA-SAMA!" One of the guys screamed.

"RUKA-SAMA IS SO COOL!" One of the girls shrieked. They chanted her name and a few others shouted encouraging words to Kana. I was standing next to Ven and I saw her Lolita expression falter for a second. She truly loathed the fans.

"Alright regulars listen up." Reina ordered. She was the one with the real authority around here. Even though she was only vice captain. "The next match is Fuji vs. Marui. Fuji is a counter puncher while Marui does serve and volley so you guys play each other's weaknesses." Kit smiled innocently at Tsuki who just stared blankly back at her. I felt bad for Kit or "Sweet Thing". It wasn't fun getting manipulated my Ki-Rin's "Mastermind". But the naïve third year just turned away still smiling and not noticing the dark aura that seemed to surround her opponent. When she asked for smooth or rough Tsuki just said she could serve. That was when Kit finally noticed the evil look on her kohai's face.

It wasn't a very long match. Kit was totally torn apart by Tsuki's mind games and self-destructed. The final score was 3-6. The third year was still shaking afterwards and Kana had to comfort her doubles partner. She shot Tsuki a scolding look but it was returned with an impish grin. Once a trickster, always a trickster.

Tsuki:

All admit that I was a bit harsh on Kit but she is just so gullible and innocent that I couldn't resist!

"All right the next match is Echizen vs. Yukimura. Echizen does acrobatic tennis while Yukimura is a counter puncher. Once again they are each other's weaknesses." Reina said. This match would be interesting! I would obviously be cheering for Rika because she's just that much cooler than the Hag. Rika is one very interesting girl. Her main sport isn't actually tennis, it's soccer. I couldn't believe it when I heard that our legendary acrobat was actually a soccer prodigy. In the end it made sense though. In soccer you need a lot of stamina and that's the thing an acrobatic player usually lacks. Rika has a scary amount though.

The Hag on the other hand is an expert on the human body (not that way you sick minded people!) She knows exactly what kind of shot at a certain angle with so much power will affect the body. Her analyzing skills are something to fear. As much as I dislike the girl I do respect her skills… I'm still better though. Rika won the first serve so she was lining herself up on the baseline. The second year had an abnormally fastball that was rather startling. Normally a tennis player would bounce the ball a few times before hitting it but Rika bounces it once then hits it right away. It really wakes you up. The match was rather drawn out. The Hag kept hitting balls that normal humans wouldn't be able to reach but Rika was an acrobat. Mei was returning many of Rika's moves as well. Finally Rika was forced to hit her specialty move "Two Bells". The tennis ball hit both of the poles on either side of the net at a high speed then dropped. Silence engulfed the court then the fans broke out into cheers.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!"

"YOU'RE AMAZING DARK ANGEL!"

"MARRY ME MARIKA-SAMA!" O.o Marika ignored the cheers but she seemed rather disturbed by the last one. Ven was chuckling darkly. It seems her true self is coming out more than usual today. Which reminds me we can probably add that guy to Rika's section of our blackmail collection. Speaking of our collection is rather impressive. We have info on people (mainly tennis players) from various schools and districts. We may or may not have stolen a few of Reina's info books to gather it but it was totally worth it.

After Rika had pulled her ace the match was completely in her favor. The Hag just couldn't find a way to counter it. Rika just flew around the court giving the illusion that she actually had wings.

"Game goes to Echizen 6-4." Reina called out. Rika and The Hag shook hands at the net and exchanged a few competitive words. All in all not much talking between the two of them during the game. This is what happens people when you put an antisocial girl and a relatively quiet girl in a match together. Finally Reina turned towards us with a smirk on her face.

"Final match Amane vs. Kyoko. Both of them are all-rounders with various strengths so let the game begin!" Ruka yelled. She bounced up and down excitedly with a huge grin on her face. Buchou could be a bit on an airhead at times but at least she wasn't screaming anymore.

Reina strutted her way to the net and waited for her opponent to follow. Ven was a little busy though. She was holding her rabbit Mimi up towards Rika with a tearful expression.

"I'll miss Mimi-chan while I'm gone so take good care of her Rika!" Marika took the alarmed rabbit and patted the freshman on her head assuring her that her beloved pet would be just fine. Ven walked over to the bench that held her bag and slipped off her jacket. Underneath was a bright pink tank top that made Ruka grind her teeth together. She _hated it_ when we broke the dress code.

Ven quickly picked up her black and pink racket and skipped onto the court, she won the serve and walked back to the baseline, getting into serving position.

She threw the ball high into the air and jumped up after it. Bending backwards she touched her toes to the back of her head then tensed. In an instant, she snapped her body forward hitting the ball at an almost invisible speed. It shot forward earning her the point. She had just displayed one of the fastest serves in women's tennis. Again and again she used the wicked ace and won the match. Ven may be small and cuddly but she _is _a prodigy in tennis. No one can win against her once she decides to beat them.

Reina still had fighting spirit though. She played strategic tennis that was also rather frightening. Reina was a chess prodigy and champion; she saw the court as a chessboard. The shots were the moving of various pieces and her entire attack plan was already thought out. Not to mention that she seemed to know everything about everyone. She freakin scary to go up against.

Ven won the game (of course) with a score of 6-4. The fans hadn't cheered or made a single sound since her first serve. They were too drawn by the styles of tennis in front of them that they didn't make any noise. Or maybe they felt Ven's invisible I-hate-fan-girls-don't-distract-me-from-playing-or-meet-your-doom look in their direction. It consisted of a sweet smile with flowers and sparkles in the background. Absolutely terrifying.

"How disappointing." Rika said softly. I looked at her startled. It had been a very good match in my eyes. "She wasn't the least bit serious."

"She used her famous serve from the beginning though!" I argued. Reina was not an opponent that even Ven could go lightly on. Marika sighed.

"You never saw her eyes change and she kept her hair up. She wasn't serious." I flinched lightly. I had heard rumors from my senpai's about Ven's other side before.

"Alright regulars gather up!" Ruka called out. "Today was great but we can still do better! So that means 50 laps around the court!" We all groaned. "The last one to finish gets to be subjected to Ven's stretches." That got us sprinting. Said girl just smiled innocently, her doe eyes were still in place.

Ruka:

I watched as my fellow teammates sprinted around the courts. Desperately clawing at each other so they wouldn't have to experience the stretches. Rika and Ven were in the lead and laughing at the attempts of the other girls to try and surpass them.

We don't have ranking tournaments to see who's the best in the club, but I think the order is fairly obvious. Kyoko Venka's first simply because no female tennis player in our league could beat her.

Echizen Marika snags second because she's only been beaten by Ven. That was one hell of a match to watch. The two fought till the bitter end but Ven won 7-6. The tiebreak lasted forever.

Amane Reina's third because she's immune to Tsuki's mind tricks. While the prank loving girl is in fourth. All of these girls play at high school national level.

The rest of us are harder to place simply because our styles may clash or we specialize in doubles. But one things for sure, No team can beat Queen, Lucifer's Daughter, Sweet Thing, Lady In Waiting, Little Lady, Mastermind, Dark Angel, and our Princess Of Tennis.

OC's:

**Hirimono Ruka**

Grade: 3rd year

****Appearance: Fluffy tan coloured hair that falls halfway down her back, light lavender eyes, and is tall and curvy.

Personality: Extremely outgoing, rather vain and is occasionally a slight airhead. She is a passionate person but is very strict when it comes to tennis. She doesn't like people messing around on her courts.

**Amane Reina**

Grade: 3rd year

Appearance: Medium length black hair that's in a high ponytail with the bangs partially covering her left eye, Orangey amber eyes and is tall and slender.

Personality: Rather sly and flirtatious, likes the idea of being powerful, a little intimidating (Sort of like Kyoya from Ouran High School Host Club). She also seems to know everything about everyone.

**Marui Kitimo**

Grade: 3rd year

Appearance: Shorter red/pink hair that's held back by a purple headband, dark lavender eyes, really short and petite.

Personality: Really enthusiastic and a lover of cakes (Just like her twin Marui Bunta!) but is really innocent and naïve.

**Fuyu Kanari**

Grade: 2nd year

Appearance: Really tall and willowy (She like 5"10) with long white hair that falls to her waist that has a few thin braids in it and ice blue eyes.

Personality: Very kind and gentle but fiercely protective of her friends.

**Yukimura Mei**

Grade: 2nd year

Appearance: Average height with a lean build, dark blue hair that's in two short bohemian braids, has black eyes

Personality: She has an obsession with posture and manners so she is extremely polite and graceful. She's quiet most of the time until she see's someone slouching or being incredibly rude. Has a bit of a brother complex.

**Echizen Marika**

Grade: 2nd year

Appearance: Average height and is muscled but thin, She has long straight black hair with green tints that's often in a braid over her shoulder and has catlike golden eyes

Personality: Almost antisocial except for her strange friendship with Ven, She is very kind, loyal and extremely protective of her family. She has a sarcastic streak and doesn't smile much. She does have a weak spot for cute things.

**Fuji Tsuki**

Grade: 1st year

Appearance: Long brown hair (Syuusuke's colour) that's in two low pigtails that reach her waist, intense grey eyes (Yuuta's colour) and has a petite build (shortest on the team)

Personality: Extremely mischievous and a complete trickster, She enjoys confusing people and purposely giving them the wrong directions is a favourite pass time of hers. She is very tom-boyish and sporty.

**Kyoko Venka**

Grade: 1st year

Appearance: Wavy coppery red hair that just passes her shoulders (down in true- self, in pigtails while she is in Lolita form), piercing catlike sapphire eyes, petite build with curves

Personality: She is bipolar, She is overly enthusiastic in Lolita form and completely sweet while her _other form_ is anything but. _Other form_ is very teasing and can be kind.

Okay hope that was a good beginning and that you can get a bit of a grasp on who the characters are. And don't worry there will be original characters in the story but I'm not giving away the couples quite yet. I might give one away every few chapters if I get a lot of reviews. So just a few reminders. Tsuki and Mei really don't get along and Ruka can be a bit like Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club. Every girl on this team is at least middle school national level for tennis.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back and once again I hope you like this fanfic. This chapter is a little depressing but it does contain Ryoma so I hope that makes everything better!

Disclaimer: Herondalefan: And now doing the disclaimer… Ryoma Echizen!

Ryoma: What!

Herondalefan: Just do it!

Ryoma: No way!

Herondalefan: If you say it with a smile I'll give you a years supply of ponta!

Ryoma: Herondalefan doesn't own anything related to Prince of Tennis whatsoever except for the OC's *angelic smile*

Herondalefan: I can see why the freshmen girls are falling all over you

Ryoma: Che!

Marika:

I thought about todays practice as I walked home. Ven had wanted me to go to her house to pick out new music for her routines (that's what she called it when she danced on the tennis courts) but I had wanted to perfect a new move with my cousin. She had wanted to come with but she really did need new music.

Its too bad really, I think Ryoma would have liked seeing her. They hadn't met up in a couple of months and I know they missed each other. Surprisingly, Ryoma actually liked Ven and vise versa. He usually didn't like enthusiastic people but he saw through her façade pretty quickly. Ever since she had been her normal self around him and I know she enjoyed herself. They didn't "like, like" each other in any way… It was more of a brother and sister relationship. They had even gone as far as to give pet names to the other (Ven's insistence).

I slid open the door and looked around for any sight of my aunt, uncle, Ryoma or Nanako. Nanako was in the kitchen and I assumed uncle was outside near the bell reading those dreadful magazines. Ryoma and Ven had burned them once just to see his reaction. Uncle had cried then chased them around the house. It had been rather amusing to watch.

Ryoma wasn't home from school yet so I went up to my room. It was across the hallway from his. My bed had dark green covers and brown accents were all around the room. Currently Karupin was snoozing happily on my bed in a patch of sunlight. I set my bag down beside the small desk and flopped down into the chair.

I had gotten extra English homework from my teacher simply because I been daydreaming during class then she'd asked me a question. I had answered perfectly then noticed a small mistake in her sentence on the board and had pointed that out. She wasn't happy about me helping her so she'd given the whole class extra work.

The homework was quickly dealt with and I felt the urge to go kick around a soccer ball. I hadn't played in a while and I had missed it. I'm actually a soccer prodigy not a tennis one (that's Ven) so I had to make sure to play often in case I get with drawl symptoms (that can happen).

Changing quickly, I ran outside and grabbed the soccer ball that I always put on the side of the house. For a while I just ran around kicking the ball a bit then my phone beeped.

_Ven: Is Seven Nation Army a good song to use?_ I thought about it. It definitely had a good beat so that might be easier for Ven to keep playing in her head.

_Rika: I think so. The obvious beat would make it easier to choreograph to._

_Ven: K Thanks!_

I smiled slightly at her complete trust in me not to tell someone the songs she used.

"Want to have a match?" I jumped slightly. I hadn't noticed Ryoma come up behind me or even come home for that matter.

"Sure. I was going to ask you when you came home. I have a new move I want to perfect." He nodded mutely and I stepped back inside to grab my tennis racket. The two of us played a warm up round then we got started on the real match. We battled fiercely until I finally saw my chance and hit my newly created drop shot. Instead of hitting the strings it hit the edge of my racket and was sliced downwards. Only someone with incredible eyesight and hand coordination could pull this off. The hit on the side deadened the spin on the ball causing to slow down and just drop with little bounce.

We continued playing and perfecting various moves for while until we sat down on the grass next to the tennis court to take a break. An interesting thought occurred to me.

"So, when are you introducing me to your teammates? I haven't met a single one of them yet and I doubt they even know I live here." I asked casually. Ryoma thought about it for a second. I thought he might say no because wherever I went, Ven went. And wherever Ven went chaos followed.

"How about you come to the prefectural tournament this weekend. I can introduce you there. And bring Ven with you too because I haven't seen her in ages." He said. Huh. Maybe his time away from the girl had caused him to forget her mischief loving nature. Then I remembered something Tsuki said a couple of days ago. We had been talking about the strangeness of the families we lived with and she had mentioned that she had a slightly sadistic older brother that played tennis. She said some more things about photography and cacti but what had really caught my eye was when she mentioned he was a regular at Seigaku.

"Is there a player on your team with the name Fuji Syuusuke?" He turned his head to me slightly in confusion.

"Yes there is. Why?"

"One of my teammates said something about her tennis playing older brother called Syuusuke at Seigaku. I thought you would know him."

"You play with Fuji-senpai's younger sister?" He said surprised. I just nodded. He seemed to contemplate this for a bit (he probably hadn't even known of Tsuki's existence) then got up and turned around.

"I'm going to challenge baka-oyaji to a match." Was all he said. Then he just walked off in the direction of the bell. I got up and made my way back to the house. I was trying to figure out my chances of convincing Karupin to take a whiz on uncle's magazines… I've been spending too much time with Ven.

In the end I just took a shower then was called down for dinner. Dinner consisted of Nanako arguing with Uncle Nanjirō about his "literary choices" while Ryoma and I just watched in hidden amusement.

I went back upstairs and considered going to bed early but quickly shut that idea down. If I slept early then the nightmares would just come quicker. I still hadn't gotten over it yet but I guess that was to be expected. It was my childhood and it had stuck with me. It was the reason I was so broken. Only Ven could reach out to me because she had gone through something alike to it.

She had been forced to give up who she really was just because it didn't fit her mother's ideal of a youngest daughter. Ven came from a high-class family that was all about image. Every child in her family was gifted in someway. Her eldest brother was a genius with an IQ that was off the charts while her older sister was a classical music prodigy. They hadn't wanted a third child (or so she'd been told by her mother) she was a "mistake". But her mother warmed up to the idea during her pregnancy. When she found out her child was a girl she was all the more elated. Why you may ask? Because her mother had created the image of the perfect little girl. Sweet, innocent and a Lolita through and through. Instead she got another child with a relatively high IQ that she used in her slightly sadistic nature and had a passion for (not to mention a prodigy of) tennis. Not what her mother wanted. And so Ven became bipolar (or something like it). She kept her true self locked away and it only ever appeared when she was deadly serious in tennis or she was extremely angry.

I still remember the first time I saw it. I had just told her about my childhood and it broke through her perfect act. She was deadly and ice cold, wanting only to avenge me for the experiences I had been through. Quite the change from her usual light hearted self. But over time I realized that her true self was actually more fun and easier to talk to then her Lolita self. She could be kind but she just really enjoyed teasing other people. Not to mention she is a complete and utter flirt. She blames that on her genes though. Apparently her cousin is way worse than she is.

Ven understood the feeling of drowning in bad memories even though hers weren't on as serious a level. But drowsiness began to overtake me and I felt myself slipping. Slipping into my childhood memories of being abused.

Like I said before a kind of depressing end but you learn some stuff about Ven and Marika. Please Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Another Chapter! I had so much fun writing this one! Tsuki, Ven and Marika are such amusing characters.

Disclaimer: Ven: Herondalefan only owns my team and me. Prince of Tennis was sadly not a product of her vivid imagination.

Herondalefan: There's no need to rub it in *grumbles*

Ven: I'm sorry did you say something *surrounded by sparkles*

Herondalefan: *gulps* Nothing… nothing at all

Ven: *pats head* good little fan fiction writer

Venka:

Rika invited me to the tournament that Ryoma and his teammates were playing in. She said something about Tsuki's older brother being on the same team as him so she was tagging along with us too. So that's how we found ourselves walking to the tennis prefectural in Tokyo on a sunny Saturday. Throughout the walk there Tsuki was complaining about her mothers latest attempts to wrestle her into a dress. I was very amused throughout the duration of the story. Tsuki loathed anything girly. She constantly wore clothing from her brother's closets with her favourite pair of soccer shorts. I still remember the time her mother took her skirt shopping and she had burst out of the store in a pair of black soccer shorts, Syuusuke's white button-up shirt, with a tie tied around her head. She had immediately grabbed her precious skateboard and made for the closest hat shop.

When we got to the courts we started searching for the telltale blue and white jerseys but we got side tracked. Tsuki saw her other brother's team (apparently this ones name is Yuuta) St. Rudolph and she wanted to stop and say hi. But as we started walking over there she spotted the boy standing next to Yuuta and abruptly stopped.

"Mizuki." She grumbled. Rika and I looked at her confusedly. She sighed. "He's the manager of the St. Rudolph team and is one of the reasons Yuuta doesn't like Syuusuke." I kept looking at her, still slightly confused. "He's extremely manipulative and greedy." That clicked with me. My eyes lifted up happily in the prospects of mischief and Tsuki quickly caught my drift… As did Rika.

"Just don't prevent him from playing today." She grumbled then walked off from the scene. She was probably going to continue looking for her cousin.

"Did you bring Murphy?" I asked. Tsuki grinned and nodded, she opened up her tennis bag and pulled out Murphy her pet garner snake. I looked at Yuuta and Mizuki again and noticed they were about to pass the corner of the building next to us. Tsuki ran behind the corner and I ran past it. Quickly I twisted my leg and fell, slamming into the wall in the process. I let out a pained cry and willed the tears to come to my eyes. I started sniffling and sobbing, thanking the fact that I had put my hair up in my usual pigtails because it made me look younger. I also thanked my extreme flexibility (I think its actually contortion) so I could make it look like I had broken something. Yuuta and Mizuki immediately ran over to me asking if I was okay. I stared at them with a heart wrenching expression.

"I w-was r-running to g-grab a p-ponta and now it r-really h-hurts!" I cried. Tears streamed down my face and I was happy my eyes didn't get puffy when I fake cried. I threw myself forward and latched myself onto Mizuki's leg. Yuuta bent down to my level with a panicked expression and tried to calm me down. It probably would've worked on any other upset kid but this is me we're talking about. Just behind Mizuki I saw Tsuki open his tennis bag and slip Murphy in. She then zipped it up and snuck away behind a different building. Mission complete. Now I just had to dramatically exit without them following me.

Yuuta was rubbing my back trying to sooth me and Mizuki was still frozen standing up. I think he was in shock that a girl was clutching him like her life depended on it. I was still sobbing and crying out nonsense about missing my mother and wanting my teddy bear. Suddenly I jolted up and sprinted away (actually I just rounded a few buildings and doubled back) from them crying for my mom. All in all, a wonderful performance on my part.

When I met up with Tsuki again we grinned evilly at each other then set off to find Rika.

Marika:

After I left the two troublemakers to do who knows what I tried to find Ryoma. It didn't take long because their next court was close by and I quickly spotted the smallest member of the team. He was lounging with four other boys, not talking like usual, and sipping his can of ponta. When I was a few meters away from him, he looked up and the corner of his mouth tilted up a bit.

"I thought that I would have to wait forever for you Marika." He was so nonchalant about it but I could tell that he was happy I was here. The boys fell silent and looked at me. I was uncomfortable with all of the attention on me.

"I said I would come so I came." I said.

"Ah, Marika-chan I haven't seen you for ages." A gruff female voice said. I turned around and saw the Seigaku coach walk over to me. My face broke out into a small smile. Sumire and I had always gotten along very well.

"Its good to see you to Ryuzaki-san." I bowed slightly and she laughed.

"Always so polite." She said, shaking her head slightly. The other boys were still looking at me in confusion. I would too if a random girl came up who was familiar with the team's freshman regular and obviously was friendly with the coach.

"Oh gomen, I am Echizen Marika second year at Ki-Rin Academy and Ryoma's cousin." I graced them with another shy smile. They seemed to be in some sort of stupor because they weren't responding. Then a vibrant red head broke out of it.

"Kawaii!" He yelled then proceeded to glomp me, which turned out to be some sort of death hug. It was more choking than Ven's glomps and that's saying something. His yell seemed to wake the rest of the team up and a boy with the oddest haircut I have ever seen tried to pry the red head off of me.

"Eiji let go! You're suffocating her!" The boy yelled worriedly and the red head (Eiji I guess) let go and grinned widely at me.

"Sorry, but your just so kawaii! How come I've never heard of you before now?" I gave Ryoma look that said 'You seriously didn't tell them I was living there, did you.' And he blushed slightly, ashamed.

"First lets introduce ourselves before we ask questions, Eiji." A smiling boy said kindly. He turned to me. "My names Fuji Syuusuke third year at Seigaku, nice to meet you." He must have been Tsuki's brother because I could see the resemblance.

"Shuichiro Oishi third year and vice captain, sorry about Eiji he's enthusiastic." The boy with odd hair that had saved me from being squished said.

"I'm Kikumaru Eiji third year, but call me Eiji, nya!" Red head said bouncing up and down, wait… nya?

"I'm Momoshiro Takeshi and I'm a second year like you! Call me Momo-chan!" A loud boy with spiky hair said. He had sparkling purple eyes and seemed a bit like a player.

"It's really nice to finally meet all of you." I responded with a bow.

"So why haven't we met you before?" Oishi asked.

"Maybe you should ask Ryoma that." I replied with another pointed look in his direction. He mumbled something about them never asking about his family and pulled his cap lower.

"Do you play tennis too?" Eiji asked. I nodded and he started jumping and smiling. "You must play singles like ochibi then!" I raised an eyebrow at his enthusiasm and inference. That wasn't actually correct and I was kind of insulted.

"Just because Ryoma is dreadful at doubles ("Hey!") Doesn't mean I am too. I specialize in it." This news seemed to fascinate the four tennis players as they continued to ignore their youngest regular and interrogate me. They kept asking about who my partner was for doubles but I just kept telling them that they would meet her soon enough. No one could do first impressions like Ven. The impressions that I got from them though were like so… Oishi was a very kind and caring person who seemed to worry a lot. Eiji was very energetic, childlike, and dare I say it rather cute. Momo was loudmouthed but enthusiastic. And Fuji… was very smiley and nice but seemed to have a darker undertone. He seemed to be a bit like Ven that way so I think the two of them would get along well.

"Where's Ven?" Ryoma said. I knew it was just a matter of time before he asked. I smirked slightly remembering what my kohai's had been doing last I saw them.

"She's pulling a prank with Fuji-kun's younger sister Tsuki-chan. They should be here soon." Fuji's eyes opened revealing haunting cerulean orbs. He looked very surprised.

"You know Tsuki?" Maybe he thought that she was my partner or something because I didn't think he would be that surprised. I said I played tennis and attended Ki-Rin Academy, wouldn't he put it together? Not to mention that Tsuki was as bad as Ryoma when it came to doubles… It was at that exact moment that two bullets of brown and red shot in front of me. The brown haired one (Tsuki) came to a halt but the red haired one (Ven) knocked directly into Ryoma causing him to stagger.

"RYORYO-KUN!" Ven yelled giving him her glomp-o-death deluxe. The regulars looked even more astonished at the pet name.

"It's good to see you too Ka-chan." Hugging her briefly before he untangled himself from her. She then turned around and looked at the regulars.

Lets get one thing straight about Ven. She can pull off cute and cuddly when she widens her eyes and has her hair in twin pigtails but naturally she is stunned silence beautiful. The silence is probably from the eyes though. They seriously look like their examining your soul (She's widening them right now and they still can make you feel uncomfortable. How she keeps them open like that for so long I'll never know). Ven gave them a small smile and said.

"Thanks for taking care of Ryoma! My name is Kyoko Venka, Ki-Rin first year but please just call me Ven-chan!" You could practically see the sparkles surrounding her. I hope they know that sparkles = proceed with caution. Then she skipped back to my side. Tsuki was watched the interaction with interest then turned to the regulars.

"I'm Fuji Tsuki and I'm also a freshman at Ki-Rin. I'm Syuusuke's younger sister." She gave a small bow and a wink then flounced to Ven's other side. Tsuki wasn't hard on the eyes either. She has long brown hair that came to her waist and was in two low ponytails. One of the reasons her and her aniki look so alike is that they have the same hair colour.

"So what exactly was this prank you pulled?" Fuji asked curiously, closing his eyes again. Ven smirked mysteriously.

"You'll see I'm sure. You're playing St. Rudolph next right?" He nodded and just then a piercing scream rang out through the courts. We looked across from us and saw Mizuki having a breakdown while Yuuta was holding up a snake looking confused.

"That's Murphy, isn't it?" I said raising an eyebrow at the smirking freshmen.

"Who else would it be?" Tsuki asked. Since I couldn't think of any other pranking tennis players in proximity with pet snakes I stayed quiet.

"You put your pet snake in the manager of St. Rudolph's tennis bag?" Momo whispered. I think he was in shock that such "innocent" freshmen could do that. But the freshman he knew best was Ryoma and that definitely isn't his style so…

"Venka!" Sumire scolded, but the reprimand clashed with the growing grin on her face.

"Yes?" The "innocent" prodigy replied. She batted her eyelashes and widened her eyes. Sumire grunted slightly before saying

"How'd you manage to slip a snake in his bag?" Ven grinned.

"That's for us to know and you to wonder about." She and Tsuki snickered. Her _true self_ is really coming through today. Lolita Venka normally wouldn't act like this. I hope it means she's recovering.

"I wondered why he was gone from his cage…" Fuji trailed off. Then he noticed his younger brother. "Yuuta…" His voice sounded so sad that I knew something had gone on between them. Tsuki mentioned once that Yuuta disliked his brother but I never caught the reason. I looked over at Ven and Tsuki, my eyes begging for the answers about their rivalry but they wouldn't meet my eye.

Just then two girls and three boys who appeared to be freshman made their way over to their senpai, said some words of greeting, and then said some encouraging words to Ryoma. I really didn't see the point. Ryoma was confident enough on his own. But they seemed to be part of his fan club and they do weird things like that. An ominous aura started penetrating the atmosphere and I looked at Ven. She was smiling serenely and I pitied the fan girls. She really did love messing with them. He met Ven's gaze and she grinned.

"Make it worth my coming Ryoryo-kun." He smirked slightly and I knew the challenge was accepted. It was then that the five freshmen noticed Ven, Tsuki and I.

OMG MURPHY! I just thought that a tomboyish baby sister for Fuji that owns a pet snake was perfect! Especially since his older sister Yumiko is model pretty with perfect manners. This ones a skateboarder with too many mischievous ideas in her head. Review!


	4. Chapter 4

We find out about the lengths Ven will go to be amused in this chapter! She is slightly reminiscent of a smiling tensai in my mind… Could that be hinting something? Read On!

Disclaimer: Marika: Herondalefan doesn't own Prince of Tennis. Only the OC's are hers.

Herondalefan: Finally a kind Disclaimer!

Marika: This time…

Herondalefan: WHAT! But you're a nice character!

Marika: Did you say something?

Herondalefan: *silence* Marika… stop spending so much time with your best friend…

Venka:

"Why are you calling my Ryoma-sama pet names?" A loud fan girl with pompom-like pigtails and a beauty mark demanded. I calmly watched as the girl who had previously been fawning over Ryoma turn into some kind of she-demon.

"Tomo-chan mind your manners!" A quiet girl with doe-like eyes softly reprimanded. She had a pair of long braids and a kind face that I was surprised to see didn't seem to be filled with anger at my nickname. This one obviously had a good head on her shoulders. 'Tomo-chan' on the other hand seemed to be your stereotypical fan girl since she was getting redder and redder by the minute and was blowing up to the size of a balloon. Time to toy with Tomo! I plastered an innocent expression on my face that could deceive the most perceptive and batted my eyelashes.

"If it makes you feel better I've only been calling Ryoryo-kun that name since we started dating…" I trailed off. Ryoma and I have no romantic interest in one another whatsoever but the looks on their faces were so worth lying. I felt kind of bad for hurting the nice fan girl but Tomo was a different story. She looked dazed and confused while the three boys looked rather like someone had punched them in the gut.

"WHAAAAAAAT! Ryoma was able to get a girlfriend!" An obnoxious boy with a unibrow said in a disbelieving voice. I snorted internally. They hang out with the boy's admirers everyday and they can't believe that he would be able to get a girlfriend? What world do they live in?

I glanced up to see Oishi, Fuji, Eiji and Momo's reactions. Fuji looked surprised but glanced at Marika for confirmation. She quickly gave a slight shake of her head and he looked satisfied. The boy knew what kind of people his sister would befriend.

Oishi looked surprised as well but he quickly got over it and smiled. He must be happy for Ryoma. Eiji and Momo on the other hand looked thunderstruck. They were gaping at me in disbelief then they jumped Ryoma who had simply pulled his cap even lower so they wouldn't see his amused expression.

"How come you never told us you had a girlfriend Echizen?" Momo demanded. He was pouting and shaking Ryoma.

"OCHIBI! You kept quiet!" Eiji wined childishly and jumped on Ryoma's back. The boy staggered again and complained at them to go away. Meanwhile Tomo was getting over her shock and a murderous glare was setting in. Nice fan girl was more worried about her friend's reaction than her own and was fruitlessly trying to calm her temper.

"What's your name? I need to know the identity of the woman who stole my Ryoma-sama's heart!" I could swear I saw steam coming out her ears and that she had grown fangs. Out the corner of my eye I saw Sumire rubbing her temples. I had always had the gift to give her the worst migraines.

"You really need to get over your habit of provoking fan girls." Rika muttered. I just internally grinned.

"Its too bad Ryoryo-kun and I don't get to see each other often. But every time we do we spend hours in his room kiss…" I trailed off and fought hard to keep the smirk from forming on my face. Momo and Eiji and the freshmen trio were at a loss to the fact that "Ryoryo-kun" spent hours in his room with a **girl**. Oishi and Ryoma were blushing like crazy. Fuji had started to chuckle menacingly. And I could swear that I saw Tomo's soul floating above her head.

"Yes well we better gather up the rest of the team to discuss the playing order." Sumire sighed.

"OCHIBI! WWWWWHHHHYYYYY!" Eiji whined and shook the poor prodigy even rougher.

"We're not dating."… Silence… Eiji tilted his head…

"Nya? But she said…" He trailed off looking utterly confused. I smiled and I could practically feel the sparkles surrounding my smile.

"I lied." Everyone but Ryoma, Fuji, Tsuki and Marika looked very confused. Sumire just sighed again and turned around to look for the regulars.

"I need an aspirin." She muttered. Five other boys were walking over to where we were standing and a few gave Rika, Tsuki, and I some curious looks. The freshmen trio crowded in trying to find out the order while the regulars stood in a circle trying to look nonchalant about it all. Nice fan girl was desperately shaking Tomo trying to get her soul to re-enter her body.

"Alright now, singles one will be filled by Tezuka, two Fuji, three Echizen, doubles one by the golden pair and two… Momoshiro and Kaidoh." Sumire said. Momo and the boy that had to be Kaidoh seemed to be shocked at the fact that they had been paired together. Momo started protesting and Kaidoh started to… hiss? How odd.

"Can those two even work together?" unibrow boy exclaimed. The freshmen trio fretted while the rivals were glaring at each other. This would definitely be entertaining.

"Oooooh opposing forces! Fun, fun, fun!" Tsuki muttered. It was in situations like these that we were on the same page. Marika sighed again in exasperation. Then she turned around and started walking to the nearest vending machine. I'm starting to wonder if that sugary grape concoction is like some sort of stimulant for young Echizens.

"Who are you going to cheer for Kiki-chan?" I asked. Tsuki turned towards me and looked me in the eye. Silver clashed with blue and we stayed that way for a few moments.

"Whichever team deserves it more." She replied then glued her eyes back to the tennis court. "Speaking of which after we watch the matches between these two teams we need to get back to our courts. Buchou would skin us alive if we missed our matches." I gave a slight nod then looked back at the Seigaku regulars. We had a match today too but it was several hours away. As long as all of the matches weren't too drawn out then we could watch all of them and still make it to our matches on time.

Momo and Kaidoh walked onto the court looking disgruntled. It immediately became appear ant that their opponents were very competent doubles players. The one with the red headband had a special move that looked like a smash but then rotated one hundred eighty degrees and did a drop shot. It was quite a tricky little shot. The other annoyed the heck out of me with his 'dane-ing'. I was ever so happy when Momo shut his trap up with a dunk smash to the face effectively ending the match. Then came Kikumaru's and Oishi's golden pair. It was immediately obvious why the two of them were called that. They were so in-sync. But they aimed for Kikumaru with that dreaded ball. It made me dizzy and I saw Rika rubbing her eyes. No wonder Eiji closed them! The poor guy had give up matches to regenerate and they still didn't win. Then it was Ryoma's turn.

"This must not be easy for you." I said quietly. In between matches I had walked up behind Fuji. He turned towards me with some surprise at my words.

"It's between your school and your brother." He smiled slightly.

"I just want him to enjoy the game. He has already grown so much." I looked over at the scowling teen with a smile tugging at my lips.

"Ryoma has a strange way of letting his opponent "see the light" as one might say." I glanced at Fuji. "I wonder what Yuuta will realize?" I almost whispered to myself. But Fuji had caught every word and was watching the game open eyed.

"Saa, do you really think it could change anything?"

"We can only watch and wait." It was then Yuuta revealed a killer move. It was called "Twist Spin Shot" and Ryoma was struggling with it. My eyes narrowed at the sight of it and glanced at Rika. Something seemed off about that shot. Rika had recovered from her tired eyes and was looking at Yuuta's stance intently. She had noticed something too. He used it a few more times before Rika gasped then clutched at the fence. Her gaze was flickering between Yuuta, Ryoma, Tsuki, Mizuki, Fuji then back again.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She muttered like a crazed person under her breath. I glanced back at Yuuta and his posture then it hit me. The way his shoulder was positioned during the swing… Crap! Just for a second my eyes slipped back into their natural intense catlike state before changing back to the widened version. Mizuki was probably the one who taught him that but if he didn't know… I glanced back at Rika and we locked eyes. Understanding passed between us and I wondered how long it would take for Ryoma to figure it out. He was faster than I had expected.

"You should stop using that shot." He said only a few shots later. Nice one Ryoryo. I looked at Fuji to see his expression and his gaze intensified while Sumire looked angered. Mizuki seemed shocked that he had figured it out. So that scumbag had taught it to him knowing the dangers.

Ryoma then got the timing down for super rising in only a few shots but then invented a new one. Drive B. I was so proud of the little brat for coming up with such a useful shot. I turned to Fuji again and I saw the anger and betrayal in his eyes.

"Do what you have to do." Was all I said. He nodded before closing his eyes and grabbed his bag. There was a small twinge of pity for Mizuki in my heart. It _was_ small though. Nobody wants to go up against an angry Fuji. It was obvious throughout the entire match that he was loosing on purpose. It was annoying me that the freshmen didn't notice this along with some of the regulars and even the tennis reporters. I found Tsuki in the crowd and her expression was screwed up in confusion.

"What the heck is going on? Aniki's level of tennis isn't this low."

"If you know that then what do you think is happening?" She looked in my eyes with frustration until she realized.

"Holy crap, aniki is going to break him." I smirked.

"I like his style." I said and she huffed.

"Of course you would. I was thinking of a few more Murphy incidents to put him on edge not drive him mentally insane." I grumbled something in response that had to do with his already limited sanity and looked at my watch. Our time watching the matches was almost up. We had to get to the girls tennis courts soon. I grabbed Tsuki's and Marika's hands and ran over to the tree where Ryoma was drinking ponta.

"We better get going Ryoryo-kun." He looked at me before closing his eyes.

"Che." I smirked.

"Don't bother coming to our next match. We'll win handily. Maybe come during the Kanto Regionals." With that my friends and I turned around and walked out of the tennis courts towards the ones beside it.

So Fuji and Ven had a little mysterious chat. If you didn't get from their conversation that Ven was hinting that Yuuta might realize that Syuusuke was just overprotective then I'm sorry for being so unclear. Also I refer to Syuusuke as Fuji mainly because he is most widely known by that name. I might reveal one of the couples in the next chapter. By the way. This fic does focus a lot on tennis because the show is called Prince of Tennis so romance won't completely dominate it


	5. Chapter 5

It's finally our residential posture freaks debut! I actually really love this character and her style of tennis. I think Yukimura would totally have a sister who plays like this. Plus when I saw on POT wikia that he has a little sister who's unnamed I just thought that was the most awesome coincidence ever!

Disclaimer: Seiichi: Herondalefan doesn't own Prince of Tennis

Herondalefan: But I do own the OC's

Seiichi: I missed that part! *falls out of wheelchair* Sorry for troubling you!

Sanada: YUKIMURA!

Herondalefan: **?**

Mei

"We have the Prefectural Final's today." I said. I was sitting on one of the benches in the hospital's rooftop garden. The wind was blowing and was ruffling the plants around us and my brother's and my hair stirred. He smiled at me.

"Remember to do your best." He said. I didn't smile. He completely treated me like his baby sister instead of a fellow tennis player.

"I find the difference in what you say to me compared to what you say to your team almost comical. What happened to your win or die trying attitude onii-san? I think you're going soft." He smirked slightly at that then looked out over the view outside the hospital. Seiichi was wearing mint green pajamas and his hair lacked it's usual green sweatband. He looked so fragile it was depressing.

"I don't need to tell you that because I know if you try hard you'll win." I sighed. A Yukimura's confidence was more dominant in him than me.

"I'm not you onii-san." He turned towards me again and took both of my hands in his.

"Then use that to your advantage imouto."

~~~~~~~TIME SKIP~~~~~~~

I thought about our conversation as we waited for Marika, Ven and the Brat to arrive. I have never felt pushed aside or overlooked because of my brother. Maybe it's because were so different personality wise or maybe because were different genders but I've never had a problem with it. Our relationship has always been the tiniest bit strained at times though. When Seiichi was diagnosed with his disease the first thing I had done was relate it to tennis. Maybe if he hadn't put so much stress on his body then the disease wouldn't have developed. Maybe if he hadn't practiced as much at night and had gotten more sleep then this would never have happened. I had made the mistake of relating my thoughts to him and he had immediately reprimanded me for it. Tennis was his life and he wouldn't trade it for anything but still sometimes I worry.

"We're here!" Screamed a running Brat that was towing Ven and Marika behind.

"Finally, I was afraid I would have to punish you for being late." A pouting Ruka said. The entire team was gathered right next to the court we would be playing at. Our team didn't have a coach (Reina was as good as) so it was just eight bored girls getting ready for their matches. Reina then called us together to tell us the playing order.

"All right, according to my research on Yamabuki's female regulars our only threat is doubles one and singles three. Remember our goal is to take this in a straight set and not allow them to take as many points as possible. Singles one, Fuji, singles two, Marui, singles three, Amane, doubles one, Perfect pair, doubles two, Pretty pair. Is that understood?" We all nodded and Reina handed the list to Ruka. She scanned over it again then promptly turned around to make her way to the sign in booth.

"Rei-chan why are you in singles three instead of two?" Kit asked. Reina's eyes darkened and she glanced across the courts where Yamabuki's team was assembling.

"Let's just say I have to put someone in their place." Was all the Goth girl said and Kana and I shared a worried look. Anyone Reina thought needed to be put in place was about to enter a world of horrors. Not only was Reina addicted to the colour black and took notes on_ everyone. _She also had a black belt in taekwondo. In other words in you pushed her too far then you'd find yourself on the floor on your stomach with Reina on your back ripping your arms out of their sockets. Not the most comfortable position.

Finally the time had come for the game to start. Our teams lined up on opposites side of the net and we bowed to each other. Reina was glaring at a coffee haired girl with brown eyes that were framed by a thin pair of glasses. The girl smirked and turned around with an air of superiority while the rest of the team followed her. Banda and Ruka shook hands at the net and said something about a good game. Either way it made me want to scoff.

"First match Doubles Two, Yamabuki's Noriko Natsumi and Sachiko Kaede pair versus Ki-Rin's Echizen Marika and Kyoko Venka pair." In the background I heard Ven grumbling about their use of her full name. Apparently her adoption papers were still undergoing transaction so she couldn't use her family's name yet. Both of the girls walked onto the courts giving off an intimidating presence. Marika held her blue and silver racket while Ven held her pink and black one and somehow it looked like they were weapons of mass destruction. Such was the aura of Ki-Rin's Pretty Pair. I looked at my fellow teammates and spotted the large ball of fluff in Ruka's arms. Apparently it was her day to hold Ven's good luck charm. Mimi-chan was looking lazily at her mistress and I wondered if obesity counted as mistreatment.

Ven and Marika dominated. All they needed was basic tennis mixed with a little acrobatics to beat their opponents. Reina was sure right when she said they weren't much. The other girls weren't compatible for doubles at all and Ven and Marika have achieved synchronization. They didn't need to use it though.

Banda's creepy smile didn't falter throughout the entire match but he probably thought this would happen. You can't beat the Pretty Pair.

"Game goes to Ki-Rin 6 games to love." The announcer said. Fan girls and guys hollered their names while Ven and Marika high fived then walked off the courts. Ruka gave them a pat on the back but then stopped Ven from leaving. She handed her Mimi-chan then pointed at the bench. I guess Ven got to be bench coach while the two of us were playing. I turned around and unzipped my bag pulling out my black racket then proceeded to the court. Ruka was on the bench unzipping her bag and pulling out her purple racket. I noticed that it matched her eyes when I pulled up next to her. When we were standing next to each other the height difference became more apparent. She was a good three inches taller than my 5"5.

"Let's finish this quickly Mei-chan." She said looking in my eyes. I undid my jacket and carefully placed it on the bench next to Ven.

"Of course Ruka-buchou." Ven turned to us as well as she could with the bundle of fur weighing her down.

"Don't underestimate them though. Reina said that this pair was Yamabuki's pride in doubles. Evaluate them carefully before determining a course of action. Don't give too many of your skills away." She looked at Ruka while she said the last part. My partner had always had a tendency to show off. Then she looked at me and I knew what I was supposed to do. I was the ever-vigilant observer and I had to create the plan to take them down… while accommodating Ruka's ego so she wouldn't complain. The two of us walked on the courts and towards the net when we were finally announced.

"Second Match Doubles One, Yamabuki's Tskiyomi Chouko and Uotani Risa pair versus Ki-Rin's Hirimono Ruka and Yukimura Mei pair."

"GO PROPER PAIR!"

"KYAAAAA RUKA-SAMA!"

"YOUR AMAZING MEI-SAMA!" Seriously how can Ruka stand these creatures! They have absolutely terrible manners! My eye twitched at their rudeness while Ruka beamed and waved at her fans. I just gave them a curt nod to try and get them to quiet down but to no avail. My acknowledgment only made them feistier. I sighed at their and my doubles partner's antics.

"Well if it isn't the famous Proper Pair." A huge girl with tanned skin spiky purple hair and dark maroon eyes said. Her grin was feral and contrasted with the simpering smile on her partners face. She had long pin straight yellow hair and hard green eyes.

"Tskiyomi-chan tread carefully…" The blonde whimpered softly. She looked like the moment the ball came towards her she would scream. She was also jumpy slightly at the noise our fans made.

"Why? They are just a bunch of toothpicks that won't stand a chance against my power. I'll have enormous fun breaking the buchou of the so-called all-star Ki-Rin tennis team and her waif of a sidekick." Ruka straightened her posture a bit making her look more intimidating. She wasn't smiling any more. In fact she looked rather ticked off.

"You don't look much like a baby butterfly (Chouko= Butterfly Child) to me. It seems your parents had unrealistic expectations." She said in a hard voice. It seemed that her Queen ego was kicking in. You never insult royalty or those dear to them. Tskiyomi seemed to realize that her execution was imminent and stomped to the baseline when we won the serve. I took the ball and positioned myself for a serve.

While Tskiyomi had taunted us I had gotten a good look at her and her partners structures. Her partner was relatively warmed up but that could be dealt with. Tskiyomi on the other hand was so full of herself that she hadn't bothered to stretch. It was her funeral.

I hit the ball and the match began. It became apparent quickly why this doubles pairing was favored. The were actually in-sync and their power was overwhelming. But despite their size and togetherness Ruka overpowered the both of them. She returned every ball (after it became apparent that their strength was too much for me right now) and she returned it with deadly accuracy. She made her position as Queen known. Meanwhile I saw _everything. _Every movement of their muscles was memorized. I knew that certain muscles in their bodies would react certain ways when balls were hit. In four sets we were tied 2-2 and I knew everything about how their bodies worked. I also saw that their power was going down and my chance to cramp them up was here.

"Switch sides." Tskiyomi bared her teeth at Ruka as we passed each other and I tapped my partner twice on the shoulder.

"Their power has decreased enough for me now." I said. She looked at me and smirked. Our counterattack was about to begin. The cheering that had been relatively subdued came back in full blast when I returned one of Risa's shots.

"GO MEI-SAMA GO!" They shrieked as I concentrated. The muscles in Tskiyomi's arm were almost where I wanted them and with one last returned shot from Ruka they were in place.

"Ruka!" I warned and she stepped back. I sliced the ball so it had a ridiculous amount of sidespin and shot it to the far corner of Tskiyomi's side. The girl lunged for it and stretched her arm out to get the ball. Perfect. The moment the ball made contact it sent vibrations up the racket and her arm was finished. Some muscles contracted while others expanded. It was like they didn't know what to do with themselves.

"AAAaaaaggghhh!" Chouko shrieked as she clutched at her spasming arm. I narrowed my eyes at her reaction and snorted delicately. She was the wimp because the effects were only temporary. Her arm would be fine in a minute… until I hit the shot again.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!" She screamed. Was losing control of your dominant arm that bad?

"WELL DONE MEI-SAMA!"

"YOU'RE AMAZING MEI-SAMA!" Chouka lifted her head and looked me in my glittering onyx eyes. Her face displayed fear at my unforgiving features.

"Y-you did this? W-what are you s-some k-kind of w-witch?" She stuttered.

"I take offence from that childish accusation." I replied sternly. Such thoughts of witchcraft in a tennis match were results of the fear fogging her brain.

"That's our Little Lady's specialty." Ruka said. She was staring at our opponent's arm, which was starting to calm down. Then I noticed Risa. She looked frozen to her spot in fear. Her lips and legs were trembling and soft whimpering noises were coming from the back of her throat. Well… the girl never looked very tough in the first place. From then on the match was a piece of cake. Risa and Chouka were too afraid to get far balls incase they were my anatomy shot so they were taken down with ease. For once Banda had stopped smiling. In fact he had actually opened his eyes when I had hit my shot. I was rather proud of that accomplishment.

"Game goes to Ki-Rin 6 games to 2." I smiled and Ruka stuck her hand up in the air.

"Forever Victory!" She yelled.

"RRRRUUUUKKKAAA-SSAAAMMMAA!" They fan girls/guys screamed in unison. I sweat dropped. Mission accomplished. Enemy beaten without the suppression of Ruka's ego.

"Well done you two." Ven congratulated when we reached the bench. She handed us our waters and pointed out some things she noticed in our play. Ruka needed to work on speed while I had strength training to do. Ven got up (still holding Mimi-chan) and accompanied me out of the tennis courts. Ruka took her spot on the bench and I saw Reina stretching out. The next match would be memorable indeed.

So Ven's in the process of being adopted. She walked out on the family that suppressed her true self and the family of a good friend of hers took her in. They were actually mentioned in a past chapter… Wonder who it is? Mei has a bit of a brother complex and Ven and Marika have achieved synchronization in their doubles pairing… that's how much those two care about and trust each other. Reina has some sort of competition with the girl from Yamabuki and can kick butt in Taekwondo. Ruka goes into 'Queen' mode when insulted (there's a reason she's the captain you know) and one of the pairings in this series is….. (drum roll) ….. Echizen Marika and Kikumaru Eiji! He hugged her and called her cute a few chapters ago! Don't you think they'll make for an interesting couple!


	6. Chapter 6

This was a lot of fun to write too! Reina is such a dark and morbid character that it's almost amusing!

Disclaimer: Tsuki: Herondalefan doesn't own Prince of Tennis but you should know this by now. All she owns is the Ki-Rin tennis team and Reina's strange fixation with gore

Herondalefan: It's fun to listen to her rant on about Silence Of the Lambs though!

Tsuki: …

Reina

My time had come. That intruders little light would be crushed by my overwhelming darkness. Her soul would be consumed by the fiery flames of Lucifer's Daughter and… My morbid thoughts were interrupted by a slight shake of my shoulder. I turned towards Ruka and she looked back at me worriedly. I remembered the first time we had met. It had been our first year at Ki-Rin Academy…

_**FLASHBACK**_

"You look like some sort of anorexic panda that's been possessed by a demon!" The leader of the posse of girls accused. She had perfect silver princess curls and a pair of twin muddy brown orbs. Her nose was lifted high and she was staring down at me so I could see up her nose. I blinked my large amber orbs and stared right back at her silently. She started to tremble at my intense examination of her face.

"FREAK!" She spat then stomped off. She had wanted to make it look like I wasn't worth her time but I could see the fear penetrating her. Her mind was weak and couldn't handle the slightest bit of individuality. So what I wore a black choker and liked to add belts and chains to my uniform along with a pair of slashed black tights. Was it so bad to embrace the dark side? I liked to wear thick black eyeliner, what was so wrong with that?!

"I heard that she can kill a person in ten seconds flat!"

"No way! I heard that her family is part of one of the Tokyo gangs and she's in line to be the new head!"

"That's so creepy! I bet she was the inspiration for that new horror movie coming out! You know, the one where the girl kills all of her classmates and…" Some people really do have overactive imaginations. I had a black belt in Taekwondo and I was only thirteen so of course I could seriously damage somebody. That didn't mean I would! And no my family wasn't involved with any gangs and I wasn't the inspiration for slasher movies. Though I will admit to liking the occasional dose of Jason. Just because I like them doesn't mean I do those things people!

"Simpletons." I muttered as I walked down the hall.

"Yes those underlings are rather annoying aren't they." A slightly pompous voice said from behind me. I turned around and came face to face with a pretty girl with wavy tan hair and lavender eyes. She stuck out her hand.

"I'm Hirimono Ruka, freshmen and in your class. Your Amane Reina right? The chess prodigy from Osaka?" I nodded and shook the girls hand. What was with this girl? She wasn't even flinching when I directly looked her in the eyes!

"I think that Goth punk look of yours is rather cool. Of course it would never work on me but you look totally awesome. By the way are you joining the chess club here?" I blinked at the girls gushing then shook my head.

"It would be no fun since there's no one that can challenge me anymore." I said. Ruka grinned cheekily at this. She looked as though I had just made her life!

"That's wonderful! Then maybe you can join the tennis club instead! I'm certain you could find a way to incorporate your chess into tennis to become one of the most feared players of all time! Plus you could find opponents that challenge you while keeping up a perfect physique! Trust me Rei-chan, by our third year we'll be the rulers of this school!"

_**FLASHBACK END**_

We had been so young back then and now look at us. I was still holding strong to my Goth phase and she had kept true to her promise of becoming the rulers of Ki-Rin academy. And now that _thing_ from Yamabuki dare say I ran away from chess! She said I wasn't good enough to compete in it anymore so I succumbed to tennis! Then she had the stupidity to copy my style and play chess tennis too! I'll show Takahisa Hikari what real chess is like. My attack will be like a battlefield that's carved into her mind.

"Yoohoo! Reina! Your spacing out again!" Ruka was waving her hands in front of my face and I shook my head to get out of the stupor.

"Sorry." I muttered and she laughed.

"As long as you don't go to la la land during your match I'm perfectly fine with it." Then her expression became serious. "Now I don't know how this girl insulted you but just play your normal tennis and you'll win just like you always do." I nodded and she patted me on the back. Then she whispered something in my ear.

"If you win in under fifteen minutes I'll buy you a new DVD of The Ring." My eyes lit up in joy at the prospect of horror movies and I almost skipped onto the courts… but I don't roll like that so I just sauntered on with an intimidating aura.

"BEAT HER REINA-SAMA!" Some fan guy screamed… he's all lies. I can see him and he's frightened of me. My gaze settled on the eyes of my opponent that were shielded by a pair of wire glasses.

"Are you ready to be amazed by my magnificent play?" She asked in her stuck up voice.

"Are you ready to meet my good friend Hannibal Lector?" I responded. Yes I am about to go all Silence of the Lambs on you Takahisa Hikari… Okay maybe not quite the same thing but I will show you what a true chess prodigy looks like. The girl looked confused at my reference and I sighed internally. Children these days just weren't educated enough on the horror genre.

I won the first serve then stepped back to the baseline. I had heard rumors that this girl was good at chess and I didn't doubt it but I knew I was much better. This became apparent throughout the match. My knights slipped pass her nets and my bishops were not calculated into her equations. She probably had a fifth of the scenarios running through her head. Her shots weren't nearly as precise as mine and I could sense her stamina running out. Her brain was shutting down as were her slim chances of taking the win. You don't mess with Amane Reina, the number one chess champion in Japan.

"NNnnooooooooo!" She cried and fell to her knees in front of the net. The girl hadn't been able to take a single point from me. I walked up to the net and looked down at her pitiful form while I inwardly rejoiced at my time of eleven minutes. The Ring here I come!

"You can't beat the master at their own game." Was all I said. She glared at me and I offered her my hand. Now that she had learned who was on top there was no need to criticize her any more.

"If you're actually serious about chess tennis then I suggest coming to Ki-Rin academy to be trained." She stiffly took my hand but declined the offer.

"I want to beat you by my own means." And the matter was closed. Sure I may look like a panda with the makeup I wore but I took tennis seriously. I was the fukubuchou of this team for a reason.

"Ki-Rin wins three games to love. They are the champions of the prefectural finals!" The crowd cheered and the team high fived even though it was expected. I was too far of in my universe to care though. Smiling I grabbed Ruka's hand and started to drag her to the nearest DVD store I could think of.

So Reina has a strange fasination with horror movies and darkness and she dresses like a Goth girl. Ruka was her first friend in school after she moved from Osaka (wonder if she knew any of the tennis players from there hmmmm) and later she met Kit but that wasn't shown. I hope you don't find her too creepy because I think she's quite the cool character. Reina is also quite protective of her title as chess champion.


	7. Chapter 7

This is such a kawaii chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Karupin: Mmrrrreeeoooowww!

Herondalefan: What he said

Karupin: Mreow!

Herondalefan: Excuse Me?!

Karupin: MREOW!

Herondalefan: THAT'S IT! *chases cat* Go back to Marika and Ryoma you rude cat!

Ven

It was Sunday and I was bored. All of my friends had other engagements and my cousin had a date so I had nothing to amuse me. That left my soon to be adopted brother. He was in his room sipping nonalcoholic champagne and relaxing. Well I'd disturb that soon enough.

"KEI-KUN! I'M BORED! ENTERTAIN YOUR SISTER!" I demanded while jumping onto the back of his chair. Atobe Keigo jerked forward and spilled his drink all over his silk robe. He got up flustered, eye twitching, and looking extremely annoyed in general.

"Can't you leave Ore-sama in peace for five seconds imouto!" He demanded but it looked more like a pout to me.

"Don't 'ore-sama' me Kei-kun! I'm your imouto I deserve more respect than that!" He dramatically sighed then placed his fingers to his face.

"What am I going to do with you Ven? Will you ever grow up?" I could hear the teasing tone in his voice and I giggled.

"NEVER!" I yelled then tackle hugged him. I heard his deep laugh as he hugged me back and patted me on the head.

"Good Morning, Kei-kun."

"Good Morning to you too, Ven." This was a routine for us. I would ruin his serenity, he'd yell, we'd hug. In my mind it was the perfect sibling relationship. After Keigo got changed out of his spoiled robe we sat down and ate some breakfast in his spacious chambers.

"So what do you want to do today?" He asked. I remembered a message I had heard being recorded over Keigo's cell phone last night and smiled.

"Shouldn't you be practicing with your team? You know, after getting beaten by an unseeded school in three straight games." His eyes widened and I chuckled. Had he thought that I wouldn't find out? A scowl formed on his face and he placed his new glass of champagne down.

"That wasn't Ore-sama's fault! Shishido is at fault for underestimating Tachibana. We were scammed!" He insisted. I rolled my eyes.

"I suppose poor Shishido was kicked off the regulars for being overconfident." I said. Tapping my lip with my index finger I thought about the situation. "It might be a good thing for him. He has strong tenacity from what you've told me and this loss will make him stronger. He might also have the makings of a good doubles player." I pondered this while Keigo mulled over my words. I turned to him.

"Is there anyone on your team that would be able to create a strong bond with him? Preferably someone who can benefit from his intense attitude." Keigo thought it over for a little longer then nodded.

"Ootori. Ore-sama can't believe that he didn't think of that before." He gave me a satisfied smirk and took another sip of his drink.

"Are you sure your not blood related to Ore-sama?" I mirrored his smirk and leaned further back into the squishy cushions of the couch.

"I'm just a noble with a ridiculously high IQ." I responded. He gave an approving nod to this statement then set his glass down.

"But really, What do you want to do today?" I really wasn't sure. The reason I came to him in the first place was because I had no ideas. I glanced around my surroundings like the thin air would just suddenly offer up an idea when I noticed the newspaper lying next to Keigo. On the front page it was announcing the grand opening of a new aquarium in Tokyo. Perfect!

"Kei-kun we should go see the new aquarium! It has bottlenose dolphins!" I held up the newspaper for him to see and he studied the front page briefly before getting up.

"Then we should get going before it gets too crowded." I jumped up and down in glee then bounced out of his room.

I have always loved the design of my chambers. It was all decorated in various shades of blue and pink with **tons** of CD's lining the shelves. My bed was baby blue with silk hangings and various velvets swathing it (What? I'm an Atobe this shouldn't be a surprise) and on the one side of the room was a smaller circular bed with pink bows and lace. In the middle of the bed was a dozing rabbit that was the incarnation of all that was kawaii! Blue and pink fabric hung from the ceiling giving off an almost gypsy-like feel. A large pair of white doors were across from Mimi-chan's bed and led into a enormous closet. It was almost larger than the bedroom and held more Lolita dresses than could be counted. They were all organized by colour and style while various shoes were lined up along the wall on the floor.

Walking into my closet I immediately made my way to the white and layered section. I found a dress with a fluffy white bottom and a dark blue sash. It had a pair of straps that went over your shoulders and a large section of fabric that wrapped around my biceps and chest. Paired with some dark blue ribbon pigtails and black flats no one would be able to tell I was an athlete.

Out of my closet and dressed for the day a picture on my wall caught my eye. It contained a picture of a slightly younger me looking like the poster girl for the Lolita population. I was standing to the side of the pictures next the chair in the center that held my father. He had chestnut brown hair and my blue eyes. They weren't widened like mine but they held kindness. Pointed and very catlike the intense stare was what had first made a name for the Kyoko family. On my fathers left side a girl with wild curly light red hair stood. She was thin and her face was too pale but her jade eyes held contempt. It was like no matter what anyone did no matter how hard they tried they would never match up to her.

Behind the chair stood an older boy with messy dark brown hair. He looked uncomfortable and his jade eyes were subdued but held a spark of intellect. Finally the woman in between the younger version of the awkward boy and me. She had the same coppery red hair, as mine except hers was extremely curly. Her jade eyes were the darkest of all and they held an unforgiving look. It was as if anyone who defied her would melt underneath that gaze. My mother. It was a family picture that had been taken two years ago. I turned the picture over so it faced the wall. I didn't need those people to see my new life.

~~~~~~~LINE BREAK~~~~~~~

"What took you so long? Ore-sama could have grown grey hairs in the time he was waiting for you!" Keigo demanded when I got back downstairs. I rolled my eyes.

"Your hair is already grey Kei-kun."

"It's silver!" This argument continued for almost the entire ride to the aquarium. Once we got there the line up to get tickets to get in was already stretching outside the building.

"This is ridiculous! Ore-sama refuses to wait this long to see some water logged animals!" Keigo huffed then strutted to the front of the line. I already knew the routine. Kei-kun would demand, flirt, and then we'd get in with V.I.P passes to pet dolphins. Let's just hope that it wasn't a guy at the till this time. That was one awkward backstage tour.

But as luck had it a girl who seemed perfectly normal and average was sitting at the till handing out tickets. She would so easily be swooned.

"Target sighted." I muttered under my breath. "Going in for the kill." Keigo walked towards the front of the line and the girl where he leaned over the counter and dazzled the poor thing. People in line were muttering at his actions but some recognized who he was and others found him attractive so most of the muttering was about a hot rich guy who was entering the aquarium. Girls were squealing when they saw the great Atobe Keigo and guys were chatting about his amazing athletic skills. I could practically see the girl's eyes turn into hearts when he started talking to her in a low voice. She nodded enthusiastically and handed him to tickets and… you guessed it V.I.P passes. Some girls are just so compliant nowadays. Keigo turned and beckoned me and together we entered the aquarium.

"You made quite a scene back there onii-san." I said. He smirked and flipped his fair.

"Be awed by Ore-sama's prowess!" I just rolled my eyes knowing it was no use trying to change the way he was. But seeing him flirt so easily reminded me of the time I introduced him to Ruka.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"I'm Hirimono Ruka, Ven-chan's buchou." She practically breathed the words out. One of her hands was on her hip while the other twirled a piece of tan hair.

"Atobe Keigo, Ven's onii-san." One of his hands was placed on his chin while the other supported it. His eyes were hooded and they were too close for comfort. Breathy and low voices murmured words to each other and completely enraptured both of their attentions.

No one noticed the poor copper haired freshman suffocating from the overdoses of pheromones just a few meters away.

_**FLASHBACK END**_

I was leaning against the case that held hundreds of brightly colored tropical fish when Keigo motioned to the V.I.P passes. Dolphin time!

The trainer motioned for me to lean over the tank with my hand full of fish and the dolphin popped out. I patted its head and it squeaked happily. Too Kawaii! Keigo just stood a little behind me as the trainer instructed in case I slipped and fell in. Truly he just did it to humor her, my balance is ninja good! At the end of the day I seen my fill of aquatic critters and Keigo had gained a numerous amount of fan girls so we both went home satisfied. As I was slowly falling asleep on my onii-san's shoulder I thought that maybe we should do family bonding more often.

Aren't those two just the cutest thing! So Ven is being adopted into the Atobe family! And what will happen between Ruka and Keigo? Ven was also the won that gave Keigo the brainwave to put Shishido and Ootori together as a doubles pairing. We also learn a little about what kind of family Ven came from. Review!


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! This is the next installment of the Girls of Ki-Rin Academy! Kit is really cute and sweet but I would like to point out that she does actually 'think' with suffixes. I know that's odd and a little annoying but that's just who she is.

Disclaimer: Jiroh: Herondalefan doesn't own Prince of Tenn…. ZZZZZzzzzzz

Herondalefan: *shakes* Darn you! Wake up! Your not finished yet so don't you dare sleep on me!

Jiroh: *opens one eye* Only owns OC's… ZZZZZZzzzzzz

Herondalefan: WHY! WHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY! *breaks down into tears*

Marika: Please excuse this interruption. Herondalefan is currently having a break down and we're having some technical difficulties. Please stand by while we look for a therapist. It seems she's had one too many stressful disclaimers.

Kitimo

School is fun because I get to spend time with my friends and play tennis with them but it also means I don't see my twin as much. We are each other's other halves. It's hard to be away from one another for long periods of time. Sometimes we'll both have late practices for a week and don't see each other till Saturday! But when weeks like that happen we go out of our way to spend time with each other.

"Kit wake up! My genius self has decided to hang out with you today!" Bunta roughly shook me and I blinked wearily at his interference with my sleepy time. I yawned really widely and took in my surroundings. I was in my room, in my bed, with Bunta crouched excitedly at the base of it. My room is bright pink with various Jpop band posters on my walls. Spare papers and laundry that isn't done yet mostly take up a fuzzy purple carpet that dominates the room. A lingering scent of vanilla and strawberries hangs in it and a messy desk is opposite from my bed.

"C'mon Kit wake up! I'll take us out for ice cream!" That woke me up. Bunta _never_ treats anyone for ice cream. He mostly mooches money for himself off of Jackal-kun and never pays the poor guy back. The promise of sweet sugary dessert got me moving and I was downstairs and dressed in record time. As always I wore my purple headband (Bunta gave it to me as a birthday present so we could be told apart) A striped pink and tan shirt covered by a fuzzy grey vest. A dark purple skirt, striped leggings, and black runners and I'm good to go. Bunta wore a graphic tee, jeans, sneakers, and his favorite red hoodie. You'd think our obvious gender difference in style would be a tip off to which ones which.

"Nii-san! Nee-san! Where are you going today? Can we come with you? Kaa-san let us go with them!" Our younger brothers chanted. Don't get me wrong I love both of my baby brothers to bits but they can be a bit overwhelming.

"Calm down you two!" My mother said in a tired voice. "Bunta and Kit just want to go and spend some time by themselves." She tapped my youngest brother's nose. "So that doesn't include you!" Bunta and I sent her thankful glances and I gave her a quick hug.

"Sayonara!" I called over my shoulder as I ran out the door. It was a sunny day outside as Bunta dragged me to the closest park. It also happened to be the very same one we used to play in when we were younger.

"How's Yukimura-san doing?" I asked quietly. I knew it was a sensitive subject for his entire team.

"He's getting surgery soon so hopefully he'll be up and running by Nationals." That was still quite far away. Prefectures for the guys hadn't even ended yet. The girls schedule ran a bit ahead of the guys so the coaches could attend both of the matches. Not that that was a problem with our school. We were all girls and the guys who cheered for us were from other schools. Not that our team even has a coach in the first place… We're kind of like Rikkai Dai that way.

The park was sunny and warm. Sunlight filtered through the leafy green trees and children were running around laughing. Bunta immediately targeted the ice cream stand and dragged me to it at full speed.

"What do you want Kit?" He asked. I looked at the sign and quickly scanned through all of the flavors.

"Strawberry please." I gave him my best innocent doe eyes in case he decided to back down.

"We'll take one rolo cone and one strawberry cone please!" Bunta said to the cashier. The man smiled indulgently at us and waddled over to the freezer. He probably thought we were freshmen in middle school or seniors in grade school. Definitely not seniors in middle school. I still remember the time when Bunta was mistaken as my twin sister… Oh, the sorrows of having pink hair (but Bunta insists it's red).

The cashier handed us our ice cream cones and Bunta pulled me to the nearest bench so we could eat them in peace. For a while we just sat there, eating our sugary treats. Too lost in our own heads to bother speaking aloud and interrupting the comfortable silence. When we were finished our snacks (which didn't take very long) Bunta turned to me.

"So what's your team this year like?" I smiled at the question. I really loved all of my teammates. They were not only amazing tennis players but also really good friends.

"They say it's the best team our school has ever had." I said. Bunta's lavender eyes widened.

"Hasn't your school won the girl's title for years though?" I nodded proudly.

"This year Ruka-chan is buchou. She's doing a really great job! She's strict but is still her usual quirky self! And then Reina-chan is fukubuchou and she keeps Ruka-chan in line. Reina-chan is the one who usually comes up with the exercises and training regimes for our team. She's has several really scary threats that she uses if we don't do as she says. Like strapping us to a chair and forcing us to watch Human Centipede or any of the Paranormal Activities." Bunta looked rather disgusted at that thought. Neither of us liked gore or suspense.

"Ruka-chan, Reina-chan and I are the only third years on the team." I said with a smile. He seemed confused about this. His team had only one second year and the rest were third years so I doubted he would understand.

"We have three second years on our team. Kana-chan, Mei-chan and Marika-chan. Marika-chan is one of the best players on the team. She's an acrobat and is really quiet but sweet. It takes a lot to get her angry. Mei-chan is really well mannered and is quite the 'Little Lady' as her nickname would give away. She really nice too until you put Kiki-chan in the same room as her. The two of them hate each other and are always yelling. Kana-chan is my doubles partner. We get along really well. She takes care of me and sometimes I wonder if I'm a bit of a burden to her." I smiled sadly. Kana-chan was so good to me. Bunta patted my hand and nodded for me to continue.

"Finally we have out two freshmen…"

"Two freshmen!" He yelped. He was wide eyed and seemed awed that that was possible. I giggled happily at his reaction.

"Yep! They are Kiki-chan and Ven-chan! Kiki-chan (or Tsuki) is really mischievous and prank loving and can't seem to go ten minutes without confusing someone. Ven-chan is really girly and cute but has a dark side. Her sweet smile is actually really sinister." I shivered as I remembered the one time I saw her true-self come out in tennis. It was beautiful yet haunting.

"We're so going to win Nationals this year!" I cheered and it was true. Our team was unstoppable and I couldn't be more excited. Then I funny thought came to me.

"So Bunta," I said batting my eye lashes, "Was there anyone on the team that you think you might take a liking too? Want me to set you up with someone?" I teased. Bunta's cheeks flushed a bright pink and I giggled madly.

"There's n-no need t-to do that!" He stuttered and blushed. I crossed my arms in an attempt to look serious.

"Our parents want grandchildren you know." I said with as straight a face as I could manage. Bunta blushed even more and started telling me to quit it. People were staring at us like we were insane hooligans but I was laughing too much to notice.

Finally when I was wiping my tears away I saw a familiar face in the cake shop across the street. I grabbed Bunta's hand and ran as fast as I good towards it. Throwing open the door, I strode across the café and tapped the person on the shoulder.

"Jackal-kun!" I squealed and hugged the Brazilian as tight as I could. He looked surprised at first but then his face transformed into a smile.

"It's nice to see you Marui-chan!" He patted me on the back and Bunta detangled the two of us.

"Give him some breathing room Kit." Then Bunta noticed the shop we were in. You could practically see the stars enter his eyes and the drool slip out the side of his mouth.

"Hey Kit I'll treat you to some cake… Jackal's paying." Jackal-kun sighed at his best friends antics and I pouted at Bunta's rude behavior. Mei-chan must have had some influence on me.

"That's not very nice Bunta! You should treat Jackal-kun for once!" Both of the boys stared at me with their mouths agape as if they had never heard of such a thing.

"Are you serious Kit? Me? Pay for Jackal?" Bunta started to laugh and Jackal-kun looked rather affronted. Poor guy. He probably thinks that Bunta only hangs out with him to mooch his money for sweets. If only my twin would tell him that he really is his best friend… But boys don't really do things like that. In the end Jackal-kun really did pay for my and Bunta's cake and I thanked him profusely. My cake was vanilla with fluffy white icing and a strawberry… yum! Bunta didn't even try ordering a slice at a time. There was no point; he knew he was going to eat a whole one anyway.

About Jackal. We have always gotten on very well and ever since my brother and him became friends I've always looked up to him. To tell you the truth he was the one that inspired my style of tennis. Serve and Volley that bases itself in defense from the net. My speed and stamina allow me to return any ball from the net line for long periods of time effectively covering any blind spots. I don't have serious stamina issues like Bunta so I am able to put this method to full use.

"We should go to the playground." I suggested happily. Bunta was okay with it and Jackal seemed happy to supervise so we made our way back to the park. We spent some time hanging from the monkey bars and playing on the swings until Bunta received a text.

"Kaa-san wants us to babysit our brothers for the rest of the day." I let out a sigh. There goes our day that was all about catching up.

"I'll walk you guys home." Jackal offered and I accepted enthusiastically. On our way back Jackal had a request for me.

"You should come to one of our practices sometime. You know, when you have a day off from yours. We could do this again." That sounded really great! Even if I would be mooching just like Bunta…

"I would love too!" Jackal smiled and patted me on the head. He bid us goodbye and I prepared myself for the whining and nagging I would surely get in the next few hours.

"Good luck Kit."

"Good luck Bunta."

Herondalefan: *sniffles* What did I miss?

Ven: Only the entire chapter that you put your heart and soul into.

Tsuki: So nothing all that important.

Herondalefan: You're so mean!

So Kit has a close relationship with her twin brother Bunta (Marui obviously) and gets on well with Jackal. She has no issues whatsoever with anyone on her team and her tennis style is based off of Jackal's and Bunta's. It's the Yamabuki boy's team vs. Seigaku next time on The Girl's of Ki-Rin Academy!


	9. Chapter 9

Long time no see! This chapter is super looonnngggg! But I just didn't have the will power to split it up into two. So I hope you like this time consuming chapter!

Disclaimer: Nanjiroh: The ever kawaii Herondalefan doesn't own POT. She only owns the OC's.

Herondalefan: I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped out…

Reina

"What do you mean the semifinals are already over?!" Ven demanded, her sapphire eyes flashed and her pigtails quivered. Her mouth was screwed up in an annoyed pout and the boy who was keeping track of the scores seemed love struck.

"Both Seigaku's and Yamabuki's opponents in the semifinals forfeited either due to injury or illness." He responded in a floaty far off voice. Only The Princess of Tennis could have that effect on a guy. Poor boy probably didn't even know what hit him till the beauty queen was in front of his eyes.

"So the finals have already started!?" Panic was leaking into Ven's voice. She said her cousin and her best friend were on opposing teams. She really wouldn't want to miss those matches.

"I think they're starting in a couple of minutes…" Ven grabbed my hand and started sprinting to the tennis court, leaving the dazed boy behind her. She darted quickly past people and made it to the court in record time. Her eyes searched the crowds for what she had described as a green and yellow striped jersey. She locked onto the team who was lounging near the courts. Her eye seemed to be trained onto a brightly orange haired individual in particular. He was smiling happily and had swimming aqua eyes. His entire atmosphere radiated happiness and flirtatiousness. I was immediately turned off.

Ven skirted around the edge of a nearby crowd and crept up behind him. I just leaned against the fence a fair distance away, ready to watch the action unroll.

"Sen-san! Long time no see!" She yelled and jumped on his back. Smiley guy stumbled at the added weight and tried to frantically turn his head to see who was on his back. Quite a bit of his team turned around in shock, watching the youthful girl cling to their all-star. Finally Smiley guy got a hold of Ven and pushed her over his head. She did a little flip and landed neatly on her feet.

"Ven-chan! You came!" He sang with joy. Ven grinned cheekily and put her hands on her hips.

"Indeed, I heard a rumor that you had finally gotten a date. So I came to set the world straight again Sengoku." Sengoku smile turned into a pouty frown and grabbed her arm.

"Your always so cold Ven-chan!" He sniffed and she snorted. Crossing her arms a triumphant smirk appeared on her face.

"Even if by some miracle you were able to get a date I'm still beating you!" She stuck her tongue out. Sengoku groaned.

"I wish we had never even started that bet. I really don't understand why you get so many love declarations and date offers. You could care less and here I am trying so hard and am getting nothing in return!"

"You try to hard."

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!" Ven grabbed him by the head and tried to muss up his hair.

"DO SO!" Sengoku was desperately trying to get free from her grasp but just ended up trying to muss her hair up in return. They practically tackled each other trying to make the other look worse. I sighed. According to Echizen this happened every single time the two got together.

Two plain looking boys walked up and tried to separate the two. It was fruitless and the ended up looking worse then their attackers.

"What are you doing? Are you two dating or something?" The spiky haired one asked. The copper haired girl gagged at the thought and the orange haired boy mimed puking.

"Me? Date him? That's so sick and wrong!" Ven choked out.

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Sengoku pointed out. This confused the boys but the pair paid no heed to them. They were going at it again, trying to ruffle the other.

"Why is it wrong?" The darker slicked back haired boy said. The two stopped fighting again. Their limbs were still entangled and they turned their heads to the two boys in unison with the same derp expressions on their faces.

"We're cousins." Then Ven's blue eyes sparked and suddenly she had Sengoku pinned to the ground. One foot was on his stomach and she smiled down at him in satisfaction.

"I should have known that such a ditsy looking brat was related to this flirt." A mean looking guy with beady eyes and spiked up silver hair walked onto the scene. He had a clumsy looking freshman trailing behind him and the guy looked like the sort that threw rocks at old folks for fun.

"It seems rather rude just to judge someone on their appearance. They can be _so_ deceiving." Ven's eyes were narrowing into their natural catlike selves and her glare had multiplied it's hostility many times. The area seemed to drop a few degrees and some of the watching players shivered under its intensity.

"If you think that piddly little stare of yours is going to make me back down brat then you're very wrong." My amber eyes flashed at his rudeness and I stalked forward. Thank god I dress like a Goth because even he shrunk at my appearance.

"I don't like the way you're treating your teammates friends. I don't think it's up to you who can go where and when. And it sure as hell isn't up to you to decide the personality of people you don't even know." My eyes were burning into his. And my overall aura was stifling. NO ONE messes with my team's brat! Somehow I sensed a certain smiling coaches eyes on me.

"Since it looks like your student isn't going to apologize for his behavior are you going to do it for him Banda-sensei?" I turned my head and inclined it in his direction. We was watching me from the other side of the fence on the coaches bench.

"So you really are a good fukubuchou Amane-chan." I hissed softly at the hidden insult. So he thought I wasn't a good vice-captain yesterday?

"Arigatou gozaimasu. I'm rather proud of not only of my team's talent but their general manners. Something I don't believe you could say." His smile shifted to a darker side and I glanced disdainfully at the rude boy in front of me (okay we looked to be the same age but with that behavior towards girls he may as well be younger than me).

"I've heard your boys team is stronger than your girls team. I can only hope that's true. Have a good game." I gave Ven the 'look' that said say-goodbye-and-get-your-butt-over-to-the-other-side-of-the-fence.

"Good luck Sen-san! In the match and in getting a girl!" She patted his head than ran after me. I was walking away when I heard his reply.

"Your so cruel Ven-chan! Goodbye Amane-chan! I think this may be love at first sight so visit me again!" Ven rolled her eyes at his behavior and turned to me.

"Arigatou Reina-senpai." I grunted in reply. No use having the sadist know too much about my weaknesses. Then she spotted a cap covered freshman drinking a can of ponta.

"Ryoryo-kun! I came to see you again." The boy looked up and smirked.

Venka

His whole team was there and a few perked up at my appearance.

"How did you do against their counterpart?" I smiled. That was so like Ryoma. No greetings or meaningless chatter, just to the point.

"We beat them in three straight sets. Rika and I paired up for doubles two and we won 6-0. Our Proper pair had a bit of a tougher time but they won 6-2 and Reina-senpai over here won 6-1. Their boys team is better then the girls though." Inui seemed to appear magically at my side.

"What do you know about the Yamabuki boy's team?"

"Not much, I only know what Sengoku told me."

"How do you know him?"

"We're cousins." Inui was scribbling fiercely in his journal and Reina tried desperately to see over his shoulder. Who knew what valuable kind of information he could have on opponents in there! The girl's eyes were practically dripping with want when she looked at the little black book.

"Well then what do you know of Sengoku's play style?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you wait for the match to start before you start asking questions about him. I think data gives an unfair advantage." Inui flinched slightly in annoyance. Okay, so I sort of insulted his play style but its so troublesome! Finally it was time for the matches to start.

It became apparent quickly that Reina's information on the boy's team was correct. They were way better than their girl counterparts. Their doubles was even able to beat Fuji and Kawamura 6-3! Mind you I saw that Fuji wasn't giving his all. His play style differed (even though he was playing doubles) from when he crushed Mizuki.

"I never thought that Fuji-senpai and Kawamura-senpai would lose in doubles." Sakuno said. Her cute face was worried and I sighed at her concern. This girl was too sweet for her own good. How the heck were her and Sumire even related?

"Don't worry Sakuno," Ugh that voice, "The Golden Pair of Kikumaru-senpai and Oishi-senpai are next!" Tomoka said.

"Yeah, You're right!" Sakuno said cheering up a little bit. Reina and I were hanging out with the freshmen and Inui. Tomoka's next words made me frown slightly. They seemed too easy going.

"Easy win, easy." She had a confident smile on her face and her arms were crossed.

"I'm not sure about that." Inui said. The voice of reason!

"Yamabuki's first doubles is the same Minami-Higashikata we faced last year. I just hope Oishi doesn't strain himself." We all looked at him in slight (or extreme) confusion.

"I take that there's some bad memories connected to those two." Reina presumed. Inui just nodded and we looked at the courts. The match was about to start.

"Long time no see Oishi-kun." Hey it was spiky haired dude!

"One set match. Yamabuki's Minami to serve." Oishi was tense and Eiji was worried for him. The atmosphere was so heavy! Then Eiji flicked Oishi and broke him out of his spell.

"Oishi, strain yourself after I collapse." He gave him a small smile.

"Eiji… Okay, let's do our usual." He took a deep breath and walked to his position. I saw slicked back hair guy (I guess his name was Higashikata) and I waved energetically at them both. Why not embarrass them to make the atmosphere even better.

"Good Luck spiky haired and slicked back haired guys!" I yelled. They blushed so bright that you could fry something on their faces!

"Go Jimmies, Go!" Sengoku yelled. People chuckled around the courts as I did some sort of cheer leading routine and Oishi and Eiji both seemed more relaxed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Banda say something to Sumire that made her grimace. Reina's eyes narrowed drastically and I knew it couldn't be anything good. I watched the doubles game intently trying to figure out who would win. It was clear that The Golden Pair was more skilled but they were being shut down effectively. If Oishi could calm down…

"That attacking pattern… It's the same one Oishi and Senpai lost to last year." Inui was muttering to himself and I was sure his eyes were wide behind those glasses. My distraction had done little to calm him down permanently and I was getting worried. Eiji and Oishi seemed like good guys so I was rooting for them. But the strength of their pair had to be tested. It was the only way for them to become stronger. Sure enough, Oishi regained his composure and was able to make a comeback. He had forced the Jimmies into showing their actual style of play. Sign play. UUUrrrrrrrrgggggggg!

"Nice signing. Those two have really mastered the basics. There style has no flaw that even I can detect." Reina murmured. I understood what she meant. They had everything down but were missing one thing. And that one thing tends to draw people in and make you like them. Not to mention make the game exciting. Flair. That was what the Golden Pair used to beat the Jimmies. The appearance of Eiji's acrobatic style surprised Reina. I could see it in her eyes, the admiration for his play.

"It's not unalike Echizen's style of play." She turned to me for my input.

"The difference personality wise is laughable though." I said with a smile.

"Seigaku Kikumaru- Oishi pair win 7 games to 5." They two highfived and I congratulated them when they exited the court.

"We'll now start the third singled match between Yamabuki and Seigaku." I turned once again towards the courts and immediately noted the familiar face.

"Sen-san." I said with a small smile. Despite the fact I wanted Seigaku to win I wouldn't mind it if Sengoku was to win his match. From the his side of the courts I heard his voice.

"I haven't been lucky lately. I won third singles in a draw but I didn't get Echizen-kun. Ahh, too bad." Momo was twitching in irritation and I couldn't help but snicker at my cousin's bluntness. He really didn't mean that in a bad way. He was way too nice for that. Reina smirked lightly at his words. Momo cleared his throat in an attempt to draw Sengoku from his thoughts.

"I'm sorry you didn't get Echizen." He looked so irritated it was funny! Sengoku's eyes widened as he realized how his words could have been interpreted and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way! You're Momoshiro-kun right? The one with the Dunk Smash. You're good, aren't you?" Wait a cotton picking second. What's with the emphasis on the Dunk Smash cousin dearest?

"It's too late for that now." So serious. How weird it was seeing Momo like that.

"Please decided who serves." Ref guy said. Yay! Time to see Sengoku at his greatest!

"Which?" There's no point for that Momo!

"I'll serve." I snickered again and Reina looked a little befuddled. He truly was so confident in his luck.

"You can decide that after you get it right." He looked ticked again…

"I'll get it. I have never missed before." He chimed in a happy voice.

"Seriously?" Reina said. I smiled.

"His luck is troublesome. It's kind of crazy how many things he's gotten right with it."

"I'll take rough then." The racket fell… then hit the net… and landed on rough.

"Crazy." Reina muttered with wide eyes. She slipped a small black book out of her leather jacket and quickly scribbled some things down.

"See, it's rough." He was just playing with him now.

"Momochan-senpai is so unlucky. If it hadn't hit the net, he'd have the serve." Horio whined. I was starting to wonder about the migraines I was sure this boy could give me.

"I can see why he's called Lucky Sengoku." Inui said. The freshmen seemed startled at the name.

"I think I'll give the serve to you, Momoshiro-kun." Momo was startled at the announcement and looked at him questionably.

"There is luck coming from the north, so I'll take that court and play return." Ryoma was scrutinizing him and the others were wary. His attitude was a little overbearing. They switched courts and faced each other once again on the opposite sides of the net.

"Let me see the prowess of the All Japan Junior player Lucky Sengoku-san.'

"Its not Lucky. Its Lucky Sengoku!" He huffed slightly. Sometimes that boy was such a drama queen. Such pickiness over a nickname!

"I just don't want to take one of your Dunk Smashes." He was mentioning that shot too much. Normally Sengoku wasn't one to go in-depth about a player. But the stuff he knows about that shot… They turned around to get to their positions at the baseline.

"We'll now start the singles three match. It's a one set match with Seigaku's Momoshiro to serve." Announcer guy said. Sengoku found my gaze and Reina's and smiled at the both of us. He also gave Reina a flirtatious wink before setting his sights back on Momo. The people on the Seigaku side were just able to catch Momo's mutter.

"I'm going to make you regret the fact that you let me serve." Reina raised an eyebrow and glued her eyes to Sengoku. I think she was either trying to figure out his motives or she was checking him out. You can never tell with her. Momo served. It was fast and I could tell that that ball would be heavy.

"There it is! Momochan-senpai's dangan Serve!" The freshmen trio cheered.

"Bullet serve huh? It seems that your cousin doesn't seem to be the least bit surprised about that." Reina said. I nodded. Sengoku had did his homework.

"Sugoi rally right off the bat." Sakuno said with wide eyes. I tuned out the rest of the teams mutterings as I immersed myself in the match. Sengoku tried to hit a passing shot to the right but Momo had good hops. He was definitely testing him out. Momo forced him into hitting a lob so he could perform his signature Dunk Smash.

"Don." A mark had been made on the court. But Sengoku wasn't surprised. Not the least bit. The match continued and neither Banji nor Sengoku looked concerned. They had something planned for sure. Then it happened. Sengoku forced Momo to run to the back of the court and return his lob with one of Momo's own. Then he struck. Sometimes I wonder if mind games run in the family. Sen-san jumped into the air and performed Dunk Smash. Ouch. That had to put a tear in Momo's confidence. It would be a blow on anyone.

"He's pretty good." Eiji said.

"Made the opponent think he was losing, throws a lob, then uses a Dunk Smash…" Taka-san trailed off.

"I'm so lucky that I got to hit it so cleanly." Sengoku laughed in a good natured way while he walked back to the baseline. The corner of my mouth twitched. Could it be more obvious we were related? Mind games then good natured tearing down of our opponents self esteem. Fun, fun, fun!

"Everything was planned to give detrimental psychological damage at that moment." Fuji's eyes were open and his expression serious. I still couldn't help but admire how pretty a colour his eyes were…

"Mental toughness dominates in tennis. Let's see how losing to a Dunk Smash will damage his psyche." Inui scribbled some more things down in his book and I noticed the many serious faces on the team.

"Excuse me, I call time!" Sen-san called out to the ref. "I can't get the speed I want with this loose practice racket." He picked up a different racket from his bag and knocked the two together. "Umm, nice sound. Okay, lets play with this game racket. Omoshiro-kun." I couldn't help the miniature fit of giggles that erupted from me when he said that.

"I can see how you two are related." Ryoma said. He had walked up to my side drinking a can of his beloved ponta.

"Omoshiro-kun?" Momo said in a deadly serious voice.

"Yep, because you're funny." The Yamabuki team cheered louder and we watched the game continue. Momo was broken from 40 love. 40 Love! He must have taken quite the blow.

"Hm, he's good." Ryoma said. And I smirked slightly. If he had Ryoma's praise then I was satisfied. The two switched courts and people were whispering about how amazing Sengoku was. Well he was on the All Japan Junior Team for a reason people! I heard a voice far away that was easily identifiable. I had heard it for a large portion of my youth.

"It just means that their players are slightly better." There Nanjiroh was in all of his unshaven monk glory. I figured it was probably best to go say Hi without Ryoma or Reina so I quickly left them to eavesdrop on Inoue and Shiba's conversation.

"Nanzaburou cometh!" Shiba yelled then cringed, I cackled madly.

"I'm Nanjiroh, but you look good as usual!" He giggled.

"Where are you staring? You perverted old geezer." A blush of anger was bright on her face and I sidled in to save her.

"Nanjiroh-san must I tell Rinko-san again about those literary works of yours?" I teased. Nanjiroh jumped until he saw whom it was.

"Ven-chan! How's my favorite little bratty niece?" We glomped each other (we had always gotten on very well) and he ruffled my hair. He seemed to have forgotten about Shiba when he saw me. It had been awhile since I'd been over to Ryoma and Rika's place and the family had gotten so used to presence that I was there 'niece'. It had been that way ever since I was younger.

"Wonderful Uncle Nanjiroh!" The reporters interrupted our reunion.

"Didn't we see you here at the Rudolph game?" Inoue asked politely and I nodded.

"I'm a childhood friend of Ryoma's." I replied. "My name is Kyoko Venka." This widened the eyes of both reporters.

"You mean you're the Princess of Tennis?" Shiba exclaimed and Nanjiroh patted my head proudly.

"Sure am. I'm currently playing on the Ki-Rin regular team." The reporters nodded and seemed slightly star struck.

"So kawaii." Shiba muttered absently and I beamed.

"Is the girl you came here with on the team as well." Nodding I pointed at my Goth companion and shocked them to the core with my next words.

"She's the fukubuchou of the Ki-Rin team. Her name is Amane Reina." Inoue scribbled stuff down on a notepad and thought for a second.

"Isn't Amane Reina the name of Japan's leading chess champion right now?" I giggled again.

"They are one in the same. Reina-senpai is multi-talented."

"Do you think Shiba and I could do an interview on your team?" Inoue asked. I grinned again and nodded. This year's team was so good that I think we deserved an interview. Not to mention that Buchou loves the spot light… Then Inoue turned to Nanjiroh with a serious face.

"What kind of person is Yamabuki's coach Michiyo Banda? From my research, when you were at Seigaku you guys lost to a no-name school coached by Banda." Nanjiroh was no longer smiling and had a very serious face on. Not something you see often from him. Clearly there were many bad memories associated with that man. I walked away again because I didn't totally think it was my place to hear the guy's bad memories despite there relevance to the situation. I walked back to my spot in the crowd and continued watching the game. Its was Sengoku's serve and I watched his perfectly performed Kohou. His number one weapon. Again and again he used it and it seemed Momo wouldn't be able to ever see it. Then finally when Momo was down 40 love, just like Sengoku did to him, Momo broke his game. He was able to find the weakness of Kohou and he broke the serve.

"Nice move Momo. You pretended you didn't know what to do then broke him just when he was about to win the final point. A very nice move." I muttered grudgingly. I liked Momo and all but Sengoku was my cousin. It would be cool though if he became stronger. Then we could have more interesting matches together.

"Oi, Echizen, Get me my game racket." Momo asked.

"Do you even have such a thing?" He responded cockily.

"Hehe, you got me." Momo laughed and he scratched the back of his head. The game continued and I noticed something wrong with Momo. Pulling on Reina's jacket sleeve I nodded towards his left foot. Her eyes widened and her orange eyes flashed in understanding. Momo had a cramp, and it looked like the kind that doesn't go away. Momo was at a great disadvantage.

"Body vision?" Horio asked.

"It's a vision that allows people to distinguish moving objects." One of the freshman boys said.

"Ryoma-kun and Kikumaru-senpai are especially good at it." The other said.

"Sengoku's beyond that." Inui said. Fuji piped up after him.

"No matter how often Momo goes the other way, he doesn't miss it. It means he can clearly see the shots and where the ball will land."

"I can barely make out the ball on the court." Sakuno softly said. Her voice was worried. Tomo nodded her affirmative.

"To him, Momo's speed balls must seem like they're standing still." Fuji finished. His expression was grim. Things weren't looking good for Momo.

"Yes." Eiji confirmed.

"What should we do?" Horio panicked. I twitched. It was their game. There was nothing we could do except cheer and watch.

"There's nothing we can do." Kaidou said. The voice of reason once again!

"Is someone just born with body vision?" Horio demanded. He probably thought it was an unfair advantage.

"It normally runs in the family." Fuji said then his gaze flickered over to me.

"I'm sure you knew he had it Ven-chan." I smiled and nodded, my eyes still fixed on the match.

"I know first hand how much of an advantage he has right now."

"You have it too!" Horio yelled. I winced at his annoyingness. Reina sighed in exasperation next to me.

"Fuji-san said that it runs in the family didn't he? Of course she has it." Reina said in a clipped tone.

"It really does feel like everything's standing still sometimes." I muttered. One of our training exercises was to try and hit the ball so fast that it blurred when Rika and I looked at it. This had improved the speed balls of our team greatly.

Finally everyone has found out about Momo's cramp. It had spread to his left leg and I felt bad for the guy. I had never really needed to stretch or warm up because of my body form. Naturally I was a contortionist so my body bent in odd ways. So I had never really had a cramp before. The game continued and Tezuka barked some orders out to Momo about how his sprain had been healed ages ago. I guess he had been favoring his right leg. So then he brought out his move Jack Knife. It was a high powered back hand shot that was very fast and heavy. Very much his style. Sengoku wasn't fast or strong enough to return them. Finally it was match point and Momo would be at his limit soon. He returned a Kohou with a Jack Knife and then promptly fell to the ground.

"He found a way to win." Fuji said. He was nearly drowned out by the intense cheering.

"Making us nervous like that." Eiji shook his head in an amused way. People were clapping and going crazy because of the underdog's victory. I would have to have a little talk with my cousin after this. Getting beaten by someone with a cramp…

"Game set and match for Seigaku's Momoshiro. 7-5." Announcer guy said. I clapped along with everyone else. After all, it was a good match. I saw Sengoku being chewed out in embarrassment by Banji. Meanwhile, Momo was getting the most painful leg massage of his life from Inui.

"Owowowowowowowowowow!"

"I can't believe you can actually move like this." Inui said. "Owowowowow!" Ryoma was taking the important game again. And I was worried for him. Who was he going to play?

We had some time before the next match so Reina dragged me to the bathroom.

"I have a feeling I know who the next players are." I gave her a look that encouraged her to continue.

"We know Ryoma is next but I think his opponent will be that rude boy that called you a brat." A spark of anger flared up in me. Rika had told me that over the weekend Ryoma had come home with scratches all over his face, like he had been pelted with small rocks. He said he fell but Eiji had contacted Rika that he had heard a big mean guy from Yamabuki had actually done it to him. Another reason why I had wanted to come to the games today. Ryoma had to crush him. When we were walking back we saw the boy freshmen and the regulars in a circle having some sort of meeting. They were talking about the rude dude too. They were warning him to be careful and that they would help out should there be trouble. Eiji assured him that he'd always wanted to be in a brawl before Tezuka reprimanded him. Ryoma went off with Kawamura to get a drink while Reina and I resumed our positions in front of the court. Soon everyone else took their positions as well.

"Don't forget what we talked about, okay?" Taka-san said. All he got was a grunt in response.

"Do you best Echizen." Fuji said.

"I'm waiting for a brawl, Ochibi." Eiji reminded.

"Just don't get hurt." Momo said.

"Even if you lose, Tezuka is next so you can relax." Does he even know that having his buchou after him would just make him want to win more?

"Heh." A man of few words. Ryoma walked forward to meet his fate… Who had ridiculous hair, a bad attitude, and beady eyes.

"Tennis is nothing." There are many things that tick me off, but when someone insults the thing I am best at as worthless I was nothing less than royally pissed. People were muttering about Akutsu's bad attitude and Ryoma was about to serve first. Ryoma and served then ran to the net.

"Serve and Volley!" Inui said.

"What's he doing?" Momo yelled.

"I told him not to do that." Taka-san fretted. Akutsu returned it then Ryoma did a drop volley. Akutsu was just able to return it then Ryoma performed Drive A. A drive volley from point blank. That had to hurt. I couldn't have been more thrilled. I actually had to stuff my fist in my mouth to try and muffle the giggles. Reina was chuckling darkly as well. She had a creepy sadistic look on her face that usually only appeared when she assigned me to help people out with stretching. Inui had his juice, I had my stretches. They were painful things that made the regulars have a constant fear of me but it was just too much fun to see the looks on their faces! Anyway, the match was really about to start. Akutsu freaked the heck out of everyone by laughing madly then getting ready to play his game. And what a weird game it was. Perhaps I shouldn't judge because my body bends in weird ways too but I use that to increase the power behind my balls. My flexibility made up for my lack of strength. But he just played in such a weird way. He used his flexibility to move around the court quicker. Personally I thought it was to just freak the opponent out. He could any kind of ball from the weirdest positions and I knew that if Ryoma couldn't beat him he'd never be able to beat me, or Rika, or for that matter his Dad. Ryoma eventually provoked Akutsu into hitting at his face and got his one point. It made me smile. That guy's cockiness never ceased to entertain me. Finally I saw it. What I had been waiting for, for years. Ryoma was evolving. I saw it in front of my eyes. He turned without a step to return Akutsu's shot. He was finally creating his own tennis. Nanjiroh showed him what part of his genetics he could use to his advantage. Now it was time for him to take it to a whole other level.

"You will become a good stepping stone." Ouch, so cold Ryoma. True, but cold. His movements became sharper and I could practically see his true tennis being pulled out. Akutsu hiked the pace up and neither of them gave an inch. Will power vs. bravery huh? Match point came around and all Ryoma needed was one more point. You could taste the tension in the air. His final shots were for those who got hurt (including himself) and he finished off with a drop volley.

"That one was for Ven. She really hates it when the wrong people call her brat." I smiled at his caring attitude. He really was like my antisocial blunt brother! Plus Ryoma didn't get reeled into the trap of wanting to hurt Akutsu. I'm just so proud! Akutsu walked forward and picked Ryoma up by the front of his shirt. Every muscle in my body became as taunt as a wire. If he tried to do anything to him… Reina was as equally stiff beside me. And that girl had a black belt… People were shouting with fear but Ryoma said in a satisfied voice.

"I win… You did good though." The last part was more of an afterthought. After a few moments of strained silence he put Ryoma back down and laughed. Seriously what a creepy guy…

"The bastard won!" Momo said with glee. Cheering broke out throughout the courts as Seigaku won the prefectures. Everyone crowded Ryoma when he got off the courts and the coaches congratulated each other on some good matches. Inui tried to offer Ryoma Inui juice and he politely turned it down. I didn't blame him. The stuff looked revolting.

"Congratulations, Ryoma." I said to him.

"What's so great about defeating one opponent?" He was so dismissive that he didn't even try to look for the hidden meaning in my words. Shaking my head at his antics I tried again.

"I meant congratulations on the evolvement." He looked slightly surprised by that but just nodded his head. We walked over to wear they were announcing the teams moving on and I saw my onii-san standing there. I would congratulate him after the announcements.

"I will now announce the results of the schools that will go on to the Kantou District Finals. National Jr. High Tennis Tournament. Tokyo Prefect Tournament. Winners of the boy's team match, Seigaku Jr. High." Clapping and cheering was heard all around the teams as Tezuka stepped forward.

"First runner up, Yamabuki Jr. High. Third place, Ginka Jr. High. Fourth place, Fudomine Jr. High. Fifth place, the winner of the consolation match, Hyotei Gakuen." Cheering erupted that was ten times more then for any other school. Probably onii-san's fan girls.

"No wonder they're last years winners!" Someone exclaimed nearby. I just clapped normally for my brother and his team. I hadn't met any of them before (except Kabaji) so I doubted they knew of me. It wasn't like my brother to boast about **my** prowess unless I was there.

"Of course." Kei-kun said. "Right Kabaji?"

"Usu." Got to love the big guy. The Hyotei chant was resounding everywhere and I smirked… And yes I do mean an Atobe smirk (Living with Kei-kun rubs off on you).

"We will now end this award ceremony." I was walking with Ryoma, the Seigaku team and Reina when I thought it was about time I get back home.

"Ah, Reina-senpai, I think you can drop me off at home now." She nodded and started walking in the direction of the exit.

"Good. I was getting tired of having to babysit you." I puffed out my cheeks. My senpai always seem to think that Tsuki and I cause too much trouble or get hurt when we're alone. So they always send team mates to 'babysit' us if we want to go somewhere public. Normally I just hang out with Rika but she was buying new shin guards today. I guess I don't have it as bad as Tsuki though. Mei was the one who was watching her today.

Tsuki

"Give me back my anatomy sketches you brat!" I pushed my skateboard forward again so I could out race my pursuer faster.

"Never Hag-senpai!"

Since you have all just finished a monster of a chapter I am rewarding you with another pairing! Yay! Another pairing is… Yukimura Mei and Kirihara Akaya! The manner concerned sister of the buchou of Rikkaidai, and Rikkaidai's baby! How contrasting are they! Totally cute! So Sengoku has his eye on the ever depressing Reina… interesting. Not to mention that Tsuki and Mei are creating chaos wherever they go! Please Review!


	10. Chapter 10

No actual POT characters in this chapter but you get to know a bit more about the buchou of the Ki-Rin team!

Disclaimer: Tezuka: Herondalefan doesn't own POT except for the OC's so don't let your guard down!

Herondalefan: Let it down against what? Me saying that I own POT? You just told them I didn't!

Tezuka: …Um…

Ruka

It was another school day, another practice day. Except for the fact that the Kantou Regionals for girls was in a week! There was much training to be done! But first there was school to be reckoned with! I quickly pulled on my school uniform (A red skirt with crisscrossing green lines, a red tie, a white button up shirt, and a dark blue unbuttoned sweater with the school crest) and rushed out the door.

"Have a good day at school Hirimono-sama!" One of the maids called after she handed me a bagel slathered in cream cheese. The rest of the maids and butlers chorused after her and I gave them a quick backwards wave as I ran towards the limo that would take me to school.

Before you ask questions like 'Are all of the girls at Ki-Rin Academy rich?' I'll answer them for you. We're all from different social standings. All of the girls on the team are from different classes and upbringings. I just happened to be from a particularly wealthy family (The business kind of wealthy, not the traditional kind). So I was expected (Because I was an only child) to take up the family business when the folks got older. While the Atobe's had their hand in everything from transportation to hospitals my family was in the entertainment industry. They owned several very successful film companies, modeling agencies, and advertisement agencies. My parents sponsored any big entertainment event.

They had originally wanted me to go to Hyotei Gakuen but I was able to talk them into letting me go to Ki-Rin Academy instead.

Resting my head against the tinted glass of the window I watched the city roll by. I thought about the situations of my teammates. Reina was originally from Osaka but moved here in our freshman year. Her family was middle class like most people. Kit was also from a middle class family that lives near Kanagawa. She had to take long train rides every morning and evening to get to and from school. Kana's father was away in America supporting her family by being a coach for some American baseball team. Mei came from a middle class family and her older brother was currently in the hospital fighting Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Marika was living with her relatives in some sort of temple. Tsuki was from a middle class family and lived with her older siblings and mother. Ven was a special case. She came from a high-class family that she walked out on and was currently in the process of being adopted by another high-class family. Despite the differences it doesn't interfere with our bonds.

"We have arrived Hirimono-sama." My driver said.

"Thank you Akio." I said then gracefully excited the limo. Smoothing down the creases in my shirt I grabbed my book bag from the car then walked onto the school grounds. Girls were in little packs here and there but many turned to bow or gape at me when I walked past them.

"Good morning Ruka-sama!" An overexcited girl squealed. I gave my many million yen smile to her and walked inside the building. The foyer was large, with benches and real flora littering the area. More girls crowed these parts up, looking at something on their phones or laughing at something on a computer. A bell rang out and on cue everyone moved.

I had music class first so I wasn't too worried about making it to class quickly. The teacher loved me because I was his star trumpeter and would cut me some slack for being the tiniest bit late. Sure enough Nagasaki-sensei just nodded to me smiling when I walked in. I graced him with a smile of my own as I went to go grab my instrument. Every grade had band class together so I spotted Mei in the front rows setting her flute up. She gave me a small wave and a smile before turning to her sheet music. Warm up was the usual scales and arpeggios until finally it was tuning.

I had always liked tuning. The slight changes in tone to an instrument that made it sound clearer or more in tune, that was until you got to the people that always squeaked. Some second year clarinet (nice girl) was desperately trying to get sound out of her instrument. Her cheeks her puffed out and her face red. Nagasaki-sensei suggested she should send her instrument in for a check up and told her to see him after class for good cleaners. I had a feeling he might also recommend a tutor as well. After the clarinet incident he tuned the saxophones. The jazz instrument. Jazz is probably my favorite type of music. Swinging beats with a harmonic twist and you have some catchy tunes. My section was tuned after then the low brass along with the bass guitar.

Finally we got to the music. We would start the piece, play it mediocrely, the teacher would stop and sigh, then work on it section by section. We repeated this process many times before the bell rang again. I had English now. I wasn't a genius like Reina, Tsuki, Marika, or Ven. But I could still speak English decently. You had to speak the internationally dominant language when you were in the entertainment business. We copied down the sentences on the board that the teacher gave us. Kit had a frustrated look on her face and kept raising her hand. Reina wasn't in the same class as us but I could almost hear her chuckling at Kit's confusion from several classrooms away.

Suddenly a loud 'boom' was heard on the other side of the school. Our teacher stopped her lecture then ran out of the classroom, the rest of us in her wake. Yelling could be heard clearer and clearer the closer we got to the scene until finally we arrived at a semi-demolished classroom. For some reason it didn't come as a surprise to me that the teacher was standing there yelling at a highly amused Tsuki. White dust clung to the classes clothing and some other teachers were using a fire extinguisher at one of the lab tables.

"I swear sensei it wasn't on purpose!" Tsuki pleaded with her teacher. Her eyes were wide as if that would make her more innocent; the sideways cap and skater shoes ruined the look.

"I don't believe you ever told me not to use lithium that way. How was I supposed to know that it was combustive?" She argued. The principal pulled them apart and told Tsuki that she would have cleaning duty for the next week with a sigh. The teacher was so furious that she couldn't even make actual words come out of her mouth properly.

"She's a menace sir! A menace!" The teacher cried. The principal just patted the poor educator on the back and told her to take an Advil and go sit in the teacher lounge for a while. The other students and teachers dispersed and I walked over to Tsuki. Her expression was one of utter confusion until the principal left. Then it turned into the most evil grin possible.

"That was so irresponsible of you that I don't even know where to start!" Mei huffed. "You made a teacher break down and probably lose her job." Tsuki shrugged.

"If she can't handle high stress levels the she shouldn't be teaching. I'm sure I'm not the only kid out there that does things like this." Tsuki said nonchalantly.

"The others don't go to the extent of blowing up their classrooms though." I said dryly. But I did have grudging respect for the mischief-maker though. To be able to separate lithium from its compound form… What a girl.

"You'll be running sixty laps at practice today." I told her and Tsuki nodded. Mei looked at me with something close to scandal and I grabbed her arm to drag her back to our specific classrooms.

"Only sixty laps? She jeopardized the mental health of a teacher and destroyed school property! Why don't you give her something more severe?" I sighed. Mei was a sweet girl but very rule bound.

"Loosen up a little Mei-chan. Live a little. The girl was able to blow up a classroom, you have to admire her for the genius of being able to do that." Mei just huffed indignantly and stomped over to her chair. If that girl ever gets a boyfriend I sincerely hope for his sake that he's relaxed otherwise I don't think he'll be able to handle her. Turning around I walked back to my own. The explosion had shaved some time off of my class and I had math next. If there was one class I disliked it was math. I'd never particularly liked the subject but I truly loathed it when I got the teacher I did. Dokahio-senpai was an extremely old man that just droned on and on about polynomials. It was like listening to a vacuum cleaner give a lecture. Girls near the back didn't even try to pay attention. They were just drooling on their desks while the ancient man wheezed. Kit was snoozing happily in the seat next to me. Looking out of the window I saw one of the gym classes playing basketball. It seems it was a freshman class playing two on two. Tsuki and Ven were dominating. No surprise there. Even farther away in the next field was a junior gym class that was playing soccer. I could identify Marika immediately just by the one that was single handedly destroying the other team. The merciful bell rang again and it was time for lunch.

"C'mon Ruka-chan! Stop daydreaming and get your butt moving to the cherry blossom tree!" Kit squealed happily, trying to shake me from my trance. I hadn't paid attention to a word the teacher had said. Drats!

The regulars normally eat together underneath a large cherry blossom tree in the secluded part of campus. I think it's good for our bonding as a team to do these sorts of things together. It makes us seem like more of a family. When Kit and I reached the spot the others were already there. Reina was chatting happily with Kana while Tsuki and Mei were squabbling over something or the other. Marika was silently stealing the arguer's food while they were distracted and Ven was too immersed by her own bento to care about anything else. She was also feeding Mimi-chan.

"Will you stop fighting for two minutes and just eat?" I sighed. The Mastermind and The Little Lady apologized then turned towards their bento's with a confused expression. Portions of their meals were missing and Marika was devouring her own innocently. I opened my lunch as Kit mirrored me. Lunchtime really was enjoyable. Any time I get to spend with my teammates and friends was enjoyable (as long as Mei and Tsuki weren't yelling…which wasn't often)

Lunch ended too quickly and classes started up again. I had Jazz Band to end the day with. It was a separate class from band and I loved it even more. I was a first trumpet and a soloist! The day ended and I headed towards the change rooms. We didn't have a coach so everything was on Reina's and my shoulders. But we were okay with that. It made it feel as if we had even more control over things. Reina brought out the ball shooting machines and placed five of them in front of one court. We would switch players after five rounds of shooting and every time we would increase the frequency and speed of the shots. We wanted our regulars to be faster and more accurate. So far it was working.

After several hours of practice it was time to go home again. I bid the others goodbye then walked back onto the courts. We all knew that we did our own private practice but no one said anything about it. For a while I just hit the ball against a wall, increasing my power over time. Until finally I hit a shot with everything I had and created a dent in it. The ball didn't bounce back. It was stuck in the small crater it had made. Our team had to win nationals. It wasn't a choice. Us not winning was illogical, as Reina would say. We were the strongest but were also the most confidant. Would our confidence be the death of us?

Sort of an inside on how Ruka feels. She's under a lot of pressure! Plus Tsuki likes to break teachers and blow up classrooms! Another pairing announcement! Just because I think it's the right time for it… Fuji Tsuki and Niou Masaharu! The trickster couple! I'll have so much fun writing about them!


	11. Chapter 11

I've had this one written for ages but I needed the right time in the story to post it. This one is an obvious new couple! Hope you guys like Fuyu Kanari!

Disclaimer: Fuji: Herondalefan doesn't own any POT whatsoever except her OC's

Herondalefan: Your so good looking *melts when he opens his eyes*

Fuji: Want to pet my cacti?!

Herondalefan: I'd love too! *strokes prickly plant* Be jealous fan girls. Be jealous.

Kanari:

As much as I love my friends/teammates there is something about weekends that I prefer seeing to them. Weekdays are my friend time (I'll make occasional exceptions for Kit) and weekends are saved for my boyfriend. I don't dare introduce the two of them yet simply because my teammates are extremely eccentric beings. I'm afraid they'll scare him because he's a rather sensitive soul. He's sweet, kind, cares about others and of course… he plays tennis! My ever-lovable boyfriend Ootori Chotarou. We've been together a couple of months and have come to an agreement. He'll introduce me to his teammates when I introduce him to mine (if you can't tell already, he's worried about the same thing with his team). So for the sake of our sanity we have kept our relationship on the down low. That all changed when he said he wanted to introduce me to his doubles partner.

"Shishido-senpai and I are very close and I don't want to keep any important aspect of my life hidden from him. Especially you." I blushed lightly and continued to sip out of my iced cappuccino. It was Saturday and Chotarou had taken me to a small café near his school. We were sitting outside in the sunshine… where anyone could see us.

I took another sip of my drink with a thoughtful expression. The truth was that I had gotten tired of keeping this secret from Kit too.

"I would love to meet your doubles partner as long as you agree to meet mine." I replied smiling. His innocent eyes widened and his faced glowed when he smiled.

"It's a deal." Then a slightly guilty look took over his face. "It's good that you agreed because I told Shishido-senpai to meet us at Hyotei's courts."

"Since when were you such a trickster Chotarou-kun?" I teased. A light blush spread across his cheeks and he quickly paid for our drinks. Taking my hand he pulled me out of the café and ran down the street that lead towards his school. While we ran there I thought about the first time the two of us met. It had been at a street court in the late hours of the evening. He was the only one left and was practicing his new serve. I had been searching for an empty court to practice my own serving skills on and happened to stumble upon him. I was astounded by his powerful serve but noticed he seemed very tense while doing it and whenever he would tense up he would miss. I thought I would point that out to him to help him out.

**_FLASHBACK_**

"Your too tense." That voice startled Ootori Chotarou to the core. Not because of the words or the suddenness of it but the tone. It was exactly something Shishido-senpai would say except he would never say it in such a sweet voice. He turned around and was stunned to see a rather tall and pretty girl watching him. He had been sure that he was the only one left at this court.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" Her ice blue eyes were clouded with worry and she moved a little closer to him with caution. It was like she thought if she got to close that he would run away in terror or something.

"Not at all. In fact thank you for the advice I have been wondering why it was so off." The girl smiled and walked up to him.

"Your welcome. I just thought that that shot was great and couldn't help but want to help you make it even better." She stuck out her hand. "Fuyu Kanari."

"Ootori Chotarou." Chotarou eyed Kanari curiously. She was tall for girl but not big built. She was more willowy and slender but there was defined muscle. He then spotted the neon green racket at her side.

"Would you like to play a match with me?" She smiled slightly but a mischievous glint entered her eyes.

"I don't think you're at my level yet." She said in a teasing voice. "How about you perfect that serve of yours then you can give me a ring to try it out."

**_END FLASHBACK_**

They had indeed exchanged numbers but had never gotten around to that match. They had been too busy getting to know each other at various restaurants and activity grounds on dates. When Chotarou was selected to play doubles with Shishido he had been very happy. His senpai had helped him work out the kinks in his scud serve while he helped him with his dashes. Now the pair was having their ultimate test. They were facing Seigaku's doubles and they couldn't lose. She would of course be there to cheer him and his team on.

"Chotarou-kun what's this big secret you need to tell me?" A boy with short brown hair in a cap said. They had reached the Hyotei tennis courts. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"It's nice to finally meet you Shishido-san. I'm Fuyu Kanari, Chotarou-kun's girlfriend." I held out my hand and smiled trying to ease the seemingly shocked senior. It probably didn't help that I was about four inches taller than him but putting that aside he must have been shocked that his doubles partner who he thought he knew everything about had a girlfriend.

"Chotarou you have a girlfriend?" Shishido questioned. He looked completely confused and the tiniest bit betrayed at this fact.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner senpai but we found it easier if we didn't tell anyone for a while." He truly did look sorry but I think he was glad that he could finally get this out of his system. Shishido rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at me.

"Well it's nice to meet you late then never Fuyu-chan." He said. I beamed.

"Please just call me Kana-chan!" I insisted. Then something occurred to me.

"Chotarou-kun, why did you choose the tennis courts as a meeting place? We could have just met up with Shishido-san at the café." Chotarou grinned cheekily.

"You still owe me a match Kana-chan." A smile broke out on my face and I turned to Shishido.

"Will you please referee Shishido-san?" I asked politely and he nodded. Chotarou ran to go grab some spare rackets and I stretched out. He returned and handed me a racket that was in fairly good shape. I thanked him and walked on to the court. Chotarou walked to the side opposite me and placed the head of his racket on the ground

"Rough or smooth." He asked.

"Smooth." He spun it and it landed on the rough side.

"First serve goes to Ootori first set love all." Shishido was sitting in the ref's chair and was smirking at the two of us. He probably thought that Chotarou's scud serve would win all and I was excited to see how much it had improved. My boyfriend bounced the ball several times before saying.

"Ikkyuu… Nyuu… Kon!" It was fast. Very, fast. It had to be at least 200 km/h. But I knew someone with a faster serve. In fact I knew of two different people! I burst from my spot at the baseline and swung. Not only was it fast but it was heavy. I gritted my teeth and swung.

"Fif-fifteen to love." Shishido stuttered. Chotarou was too frozen in shock at the baseline to move. His move had been returned on the first try.

"Your control still isn't 100% Chotarou." I said smirking. He was still dazed but his eyes narrowed in concentration. His hand gripped the ball a little harder and hit it again.

"Ikkyuu… Nyuu… Kon!" Whack!

"30-love." Shishido announced. I won Chotarou's service game and he looked at me with a questioning expression.

"How?" I gave him my best deciving smile.

"I know someone with a faster serve." This clicked with him and he grew extremely curious.

"Who?" I smiled again and tightened my grip on the ball. I threw it in the air and wound up. My left hand was holding my tennis racket and it came farther back. My right leg came up and my eyes were extremely focused. My forearm snapped forward.

"ME!" I exclaimed and hit the ball with all of my strength. In milliseconds it had entered his court and left it's mark. I turned towards Shishido and motioned for him to say something.

"Fifteen love…" He whispered.

"Pitching Serve." I said grinning at my masterpiece. It was 240 km/h of pure terror.

"You're a serving expert." Chotarou stated. I nodded and prepared to serve again.

~~~~~~~TIME SKIP~~~~~~~

"Good game." I said shaking hands with him at the end. The final score had been 6-3 in my favor but it had shown me that he had more skills than just serving.

"You're an amazing player Kana-chan." He said and I blushed in response.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me. I guess I don't get that a lot." Chotarou and Shishido looked surprised.

"You don't?" I shook my head.

"I'm the weakest singles player on my team." This really seemed to surprise them but Shishido realized what I had implied.

"You play doubles then." I nodded.

"I'll definitely introduce the two of you to Kit-senpai soon… that is if you want to…" I looked at them uncertainly but both nodded pretty enthusiastically. I grinned then looked at my watch. I had promised my brothers a baseball game later today since Dad would be home.

"I should probably head back now." I said. I looked up at the two again and wished them a good day. Then I quickly pecked Chotarou on the cheek and ran off, leaving him there blushing and holding his cheek.

Aren't her and Chotarou the cutest couple ever! They're both so nice and… tall… anyway you see what Kana's tennis style is like. She comes from a baseball oriented family and that has transferred into her style. So obviously another couple in the story is Fuyu Kanari and Ootori Chotarou! The serving experts!


	12. Chapter 12

Another chapter my wonderful readers! Thought that it was about time for some acrobatic fluff!

Disclaimer: Murphy: FFFSSSSsssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh

Herondalefan: Ugh. Remind me again why I bring in animals I can't understand? This calls for an expert! *walks out of room and brings back interpreter*

Murphy: FFFFFFFSSSSSssssssssshhhhhhh hhh

Kaidou: He says that Herondalefan doesn't own POT except for her dearly beloved OC's

Herondalefan: Sad, but true

Marika

I've never really liked being around people. They're usually loud, obnoxious, and rude. That's not to say that I despise all people. I enjoy the company of the select few like my tennis team and family. But usually I go to some extent to steer clear of the crowds. I'm used to being a loner. That's why I was rather confused when a boy I have only met once decided to spend the day with me. I was going to pick up a book from the library when it happened…

_**FLASHBACK**_

The steady sound of my footsteps echoed around the unnaturally empty neighborhood. It wasn't usual for it to be this quiet but it was a rather hot day. The kind of hot that made fabric stick to you and make grass wilt to brown. My head was tilted down to the sidewalk to avoid any eye contact and I was completely lost in my thoughts.

"Marika-chan, nya!" I solid body hit my side and I stumbled off of the sidewalk onto the grass. Arms were wrapped tightly around my waist and were squeezing very hard in an affectionate kind of way. It was quite the shock to my minimal contact rule.

"Your as kawaii as ever Marika-chan!" The vibrant redhead released his death grip on me and I turned to get a better look of his face.

"Kikumaru-san?" He nodded his head eagerly, deep blue eyes sparkling with a childish joy. I got up and dusted myself off.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. He bounced up and down happily. I watched him warily, I barely knew the guy, and he was jumping like a five year old on Christmas Day.

"I was just going to play some tennis, nya, when I saw you walking on the other side of the street!" His face fell into one of concern, "Is something wrong? You looked worried." My eyes widened slightly. I had been thinking about my parents again, had he picked up on that? I forced a smile.

"Nothings wrong. I was just deep in thought." He nodded again and his smile reappeared.

"Since it doesn't seem like your doing anything why don't we do something together?" I was in shock again but was I never with this guy?

"You want me to hang out with you?" I asked incredulously, "But we barely know each other!" He laughed.

"Then we can use this opportunity to get to know each other! Any friend of Ochibi's is a friend of mine!" He grinned widely and grabbed my hand.

_**FLASHBACK**_

So that's how I ended up at a pet store in some random area of Tokyo. Birds squawked around me, and dogs barked. Kikumaru pulled me over towards the cats. They had many different kinds, shorthaired ones, puffy ones, and one that had a really sassy attitude. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised that Kikumaru likes cats. He reminds me of one, his looks and play style. When I saw him play at the St. Rudolph game he was flying and diving around the court in a neko-like manner. It was fun to watch.

"You really like animals don't you Kikumaru-san?" He smiled again while patting the head of a particularly fluffy critter.

"I really do and please just call me Eiji!" A light blush formed on my face. A boy had never asked me to call him by his first name before (outside of my family) even if everyone else called him it too.

"Okay then… Eiji-kun…" It felt so foreign on my lips, a boy's given name. Eiji gave me a V sign with his tongue poking out and turned back to the kitty.

"Do you have a pet Marika-chan?" I nodded.

"My family has a pet Himalayan cat named Karupin. She's really intelligent." I ended a little smugly. Who wouldn't be proud of their genius pet though?

"Do you?" I asked. He shook his head with a sad look that quickly turned pouty.

"My family doesn't think I'm responsible enough to take care of one." A smile tugged at my mouth. I could see the parents of such an enthusiastic person creating restrictions like that. Then I remembered my real reason for coming out on a hot day like this.

"I did have an actual reason for coming out of the suburbs today. I wanted to get a book out of the library… you can come with if you want…" I trailed off. He seemed so happy with his fuzzy eared friends that I almost wanted to leave him here with his contentment.

"Sure that sounds like a lot of fun." He followed me out of the store and to the nearest book storing building. On the way I fretted. I never really thought of Eiji as the library type. He'd seem like sort to knock over something expensive then pay for it in the long run. I couldn't imagine him and his jolly personality in such a quiet and subdued place.

We pattered up the steps and Eiji swung open the heavy door for me. Nodding my thanks I slipped inside with him on my tail. The room was dim and lit only by the light pouring out of the various lamps hanging and on tables. The bookshelves were of average size and filled to the brim… My haven.

When I was younger I would often escape to places like this. No one judged me or hit me here. I could spend hours with my fictional friends and no one would interrupt. When I got home it wasn't nearly as peaceful but I could still find solace in my books.

Swiftly I walked forward, winding through the shelves to the foreign language section. It was good to keep my English up to date by reading in my second tongue. My delicate fingers skimmed over the titles, my mind quickly translating what the symbols meant. I had wanted to find an old favorite of mine, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen in the original format. A difficult read but worth it. The old text could make all the difference in the feeling of the story.

Suddenly I realized that the presence that had at one point been at my side was missing. Eiji was gone! Frantically, my eyes roved the area I was in until they pinpointed their target reaching for a book, on a flimsy looking shelf!

It was as if I saw everything in slow motion, Eiji falling forward and into the shelf, the rocking of the tall wooden bookcase, the bookcase reeling forwards into the next one until they went down like dominoes. The sound was deafening. Crashes resounded throughout the normally still and stuffy room, books and ripped pages flew everywhere. And Eiji, he had disappeared into the next row so he wouldn't be crushed.

"What is going on?" a strict old woman cried out as she leapt from her spot behind the checkout desk. My grip tightened on the masterpiece in my hand and I darted over to the shelf Eiji was hiding behind.

"What were you thinking?" I hissed. If we were caught… I didn't even want to think of the consequences. Eiji's eyes were tearful and full of repentance.

"I-I just thought that the book looked like one you'd read…" He put his head down in shame as he sniffled. My heart twanged with remorse and I patted his back awkwardly.

"Well um, I appreciate the thought." Like flicking on a switch the boy was gleeful again. He jumped forward and pulled me into his bone-crushing hug.

"ARIGATOU MARIKA!" He yelled and I winced, from his volume and embrace. The old librarian rounded the corner to our shelf with a hawk-like expression.

Several minutes later I found myself on the sidewalk with my neko of a friend but with a book all the same. Hugging the book to me I took Eiji's hand when he offered it to me. Pulling me up he smiled apologetically.

"Sorry for getting us kicked out Marika-chan." I sighed but accepted the apology all the same. He hadn't meant too do it and that expression was so darn cute!

"Shall I walk you home then? I don't want the heat to get to you." He offered with a smile. Why did he have so much concern for my wellbeing? Why was he being so nice to me?

"Sure." I said a little unsteadily. He was so caring and honest. You didn't see that a lot nowadays. We walked in silence for a bit but Eiji fidgeted. I felt like he had a question to ask me but didn't know how to phrase it.

"If there's anything you want to ask you can go right ahead." But you might not get a truthful answer if you ask about my parents, childhood and reasons for me playing tennis. Just a heads up…

"How long have you lived with Ochibi's family?" Treading on dangerous waters my friend.

"I've been with them since I was ten." I tried to make it sound like the topic was closed.

"Do you enjoy living with them?" A smirk pulled at my lips as I remembered some of the crazy times I spent with them. Especially when Karupin came into the picture.

"What's your family like?" Eiji then launched into a huge explanation about his equally as large family. He was the youngest in his family and he told me about all of the teasing he had to endure. It was nice to know that my family wasn't the only strange one out there. When we neared my house (temple) he stopped abruptly and blushed.

"Gomen, gomen, I've been rambling. It probably bored you too." I shook my head with a hint of a smile on my lips. How could anyone be bored around Eiji? He made brushing your teeth sound like the most interesting story ever.

"Not at all. I found it entertaining." I glanced towards the door then back at the boy in front on me.

"Well I'll leave you here then nya! I had a great time today." He jumped forward again and pulled me into the painful hug that I was getting used to.

"I-I.. h-h-h-ad a g-g-g-ood.. t-time.. too… Eiji y-y-our.. choking m-me!" He quickly released, apologizing profusely.

"You're just too kawaii for your own good!" With a wink and a smile the boy bounced away leaving me still gasping for air on the front step. While I was catching my breath I thought about our outing together. That's when it hit me… Eiji hadn't used a suffix back in the library! Heat pooled into my cheeks at the thought. I reached forward to slide open the door when it flew open. Ryoma was standing there in his tennis gear and holding his bag. Seeing me in that state he smirked.

"Mada Mada Dane, Marika."

Eiji and Marika KKKKKKKYYYYYAAAAAAAA! Sorry just has to have a fan girl moment there. Those two are quite the couple! Thought this wasn't a date it certainly was entertaining! I can totally see Eiji doing something like that in a library! Review please!


	13. Chapter 13

Hello again dearest readers! I hope you find this chapter amusing! I know I had fun writing it.

Disclaimer: Atobe: Herondalefan doesn't own POT because her prowess isn't as awe inducing as Ore-sama's. Her's was only large enough to create OC's.

Herondalefan: Again with the mixed compliments and insults!

Atobe: You are just jealous of Ore-sama's prowess!

Kanari

The day started out pretty normal. I was just going to introduce Kit to Chotarou and then we would probably play tennis together. Shishido was debating joining us as well. What I hadn't expected was for this to happen earlier on the campus of Hyotei Gakuen.

_**FLASHBACK THIRD PERSON**_

Chotarou knew that his dating Kana would leak around campus. It would be Shishido's revenge for not telling him earlier. But not even in his wildest imaginations had he thought that the regulars would take it this badly. Oshitari and Mukahi wouldn't stop teasing him, Atobe was giving him pointers, and Kabaji just stood there and said "Usu." Like usual, Shishido was snickering at the antics, and Hiyoshi walked up to him and said "Gekokujo." He sincerely hoped that that didn't mean he wanted to steal his girlfriend. Akutagawa even woke up when he was told!

His biggest mistake was mentioning he was going to see her after practice. Atobe demanded to meet her but was called away on mysterious business by a person he couldn't refuse. Kabaji went with him. Hiyoshi had to leave after tennis practice for his martial arts training. He seemed rather down about that. But the rest of the regulars were eager to meet her. Chotarou didn't have much of a choice.

_**FLASHBACK END KANA POV**_

Kit was skipping next to me; happily slurping on the lollipop I gave her earlier. She had been unhappy when I had told her about my boyfriend but had perked up again when sugar came into view. I was readily forgiven after that.

The large grounds of Hyotei Gakuen came into view. They were immaculate, every bush perfectly trimmed, every surface polished to its most glowing shine… It was almost too perfect. It was excessive. Kit's eyes widened when the school came into view. She once told me she had never really explored Tokyo before. The ride to Kanagawa was time consuming so she had never been on other school campuses.

"Sugoi." She whispered. I looked down at what she was wearing. It was the same thing as me, our tennis uniform. A cheerleader styled skirt that in my opinion was much too short, a polo t-shirt with a black tribal design up the side, and a jacket that had two lines that were on either side of the zipper with their middles curving towards the zipper. The entire outfit was dark purple, black, and white. Not my best colours but they looked good on Kit. Then I noticed something missing.

"Kit-senpai, where's your headband?" Her hair was devoid of any purple hair ornaments.

"My younger brother got a hold of it last night and decided to use it as a chew toy." She made a face, "Kaa-san said she'd fix it for me while I was at school." I nodded. It was weird seeing her this way. Without the feminine headband and had she not be wearing a skirt she could have passed as a really pretty boy. Kit sighed audibly.

"I look exactly like Bunta now. If he gets accused of being a cross dresser in the future it's not my fault!" I chuckled in response and I noticed we were nearing the tennis courts. They were at the back of the school and I saw that the extensiveness of the wealth in the grounds was no less at the side of the building… Crazy rich people.

I realized for the first time just how many courts Hyotei has. I didn't get a good look last time because I had to leave quickly but there are so many! I guess it makes sense though. Chotarou told me that the club has over 200 members.

I pulled open the gate and walked inside. It was then I realized that more than two guys were on the court. There was a pause when all five guys looked at me (well four really, the fifth seemed to be in some sort of daze) before Kit opened the gate behind me and walked to my side. Suddenly the fifth guy woke up. And man that was a switch of character! One minute is dozing on the benches, the next he's tackle glomping Kit to the ground screaming "Marui Bunta!"

He was squeezing the life out of her while Kit just lay there blinking in a confused way.

"Marui-kun, it's been too long! Why are you wearing a skirt? Is that a new fashion? It looks good on you if it is!" The excited boy was speaking very rapidly while his eyes shone with happiness. Kit's stare went blank. Huh, well what do you know… She was mistaken for a cross dressing Bunta…

"I'm not Bunta." Excited boy stopped his rambling and looked at her closely.

"You're right! You're not! You're features are too pointed to be Marui Bunta's!" He still didn't get off of her… A confused expression passed over his face.

"But if your not Marui-kun then who are you?" She looked at him for a long moment then their positions, then back at him again. He seemed to get the indicator.

"Ah, Gomen!" He clambered off of her then helped her off. Kit dusted her skirt off then turned to the boy and the other four males.

"I'm Marui Kitimo! Bunta's twin sister!" She did a little victory sign then bounded over to my side.

"Kana-chan, Kana-chan! Which ones your boyfriend?" She giggled madly and a light flush spread across my cheeks. Darn my pale skin! Chotarou was snapped out of his trance (I guess that boy jumping random girls isn't a usual occurrence) and walked over to Kit.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person Marui-san. Kana-chan's been talking about you for ages." Kit's mouth popped into an 'o' shape before shutting closed. Her eyes were wide.

"You're so tall! But I guess that makes sense since you're dating Kana-chan." Was she implying something about my height? Chotarou scratched the back of his head awkwardly and sent me a look that said 'how am I supposed to respond to that?' A blue headed, bespectacled boy came to his rescue.

"Aren't you going to introduce your senpai's Ootori-kun?" He had a deep voice with a prominent Kansai accent. I could tell it was from there because it was similar to the faint one in Reina's voice.

"Ah, hai." Chotarou still looked flustered so the boy just introduced himself. He walked closer to us, the rest of the boys following behind.

"My name is Oshitari Yuushi, Hyotei third year and the tensai of the regulars." He made a deep bow before kissing both Kit's and my hand. He seemed to be quite the gentleman.

"I'm Mukahi Gakuto , Yuushi-kun's doubles partner and third year! I'm an acrobatic specialist." He gave us a wink.

"Kana-chan you already know who I am, Shishido Ryou, third year and a dash specialist. I'm Chotarou-kun's doubles partner." He gave a curt nod and I returned it with a wave. I would finally figure out who the heck that excited boy was.

"I'm Akutagawa Jiroh a third year and I play serve and volley!" Kit let out a soft exclamation of realization. She had obviously heard of the guy.

"You're that fan boy of Bunta's. He said he actually got a decent match out of you when Hyotei and Rikkaidai had friendly matches." The boy nodded energetically and Kit gave him a smile.

"I never knew Marui-kun had a sister!" Kit looked saddened by the comment.

"Hai. I don't hang out with him as much as I used to because of the Kanagawa Tokyo problem." There was an awkward silence and I figured I better introduce myself.

"How silly of me, I'm Fuyu Kanari, a Ki-Rin second year and regular." Kit giggled.

"And I'm her doubles partner!" She hung off of my arm again and I gave her a warm smile. Mukahi smirked.

"If you two are doubles partners then why don't you play a match with me and Yuushi-kun, ne?" I shrugged and looked at my partner. It was up to her. She nodded enthusiastically so I made my way over to the court. A smirking Mukahi and a sighing Oshitari followed. Mukahi probably thought it would be an easy win because we were girls. Well he has another thing coming!

Oshitari placed the head of his racket on the ground.

"Rough or smooth?" He asked in his velvet voice.

"Rough." I answered. He spun it till it landed on the ground.

"Your serve then." I was handed the ball and I nodded gracefully trying to conceal the smirk on my face. It was my serve…

Akutagawa was sitting in the ref's chair while Shishido and Chotarou were off to the side. They were both sitting closer to my and Kit's court making it clear who they were rooting for.

"Let's give it our usual!" Kit cheered and I nodded. She winked at me with her back turned to our opponents before settling herself in the front position. I walked back to the baseline and bounced the ball a few times on the line.

"Marui and Fuyu pair versus the Oshitari and Mukahi pair. First serve goes to Fuyu." Jiroh said in a voice that indicated he was quivering in his chair with excitement. It was time to wipe that cocky smile off of Mukahi's face! Throwing the ball high in the air I wound up. My left arm came back, my right leg came up…

"What's that position?" Mukahi mumbled. Oshitari's eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"It almost looks like she's about to pitch a baseball." He answered. Then my dominant arm snapped forward. Whack! The yellow blur raced over the net and to the other side of the court with heart shattering speed. Neither of them could move. My serve was way to fast. Kit giggled again at the looks on their faces.

"W-what was that?" Mukahi managed to gasp out. I smiled innocently.

"Pitching Serve." Shishido snickered at the loss on his teammates faces. Chotarou was forced to hide a grin. We won our serve (obviously) and the privileges switched sides. That's when Kit's real game kicked in. One of the amazing things about our team is that normal weaknesses in our play styles are actually our strengths. Kit plays at net but she's fast and her stamina doesn't drain easily like her twin's. That's why she plays net defense. The same things true for Marika. She's an acrobat with loads of stamina because of soccer.

Oshitari didn't figure out our game till it was too late.

"It's switched," He choked out, "Kit-chan's defense and Kana-chan's offense, they switched the usual positions!" Kit applauded his observation in a kindly mocking way while Akutagawa announced the final scores.

"6 games to 1 for Marui and Fuyu pair!" He squealed out. Clapping his hands together he jumped down from his perched and grabbed Kit's hands in his.

"Sugoi! Your playing is sugoi! Such a cool style for such a kawaii girl!" He chattered. Kit blushed at his compliment and I looked at him with wide eyes. He wasn't just complimenting her for attention. In his mind he was just stating the truth. I raised an eyebrow and whispered to Chotarou.

"I think those two will be seeing more of each other." He nodded with a soft smile on his face. I pulled out a watch and checked the time groaning. I had wanted to spend some time with Chotarou but Kit needed to leave for Kanagawa soon or she wouldn't make it home in time. I turned to him and he understood the look on his face.

"Next time." he said and pulled me in for a hug. He was warm and cuddly, and he smelled like pine trees… Someone cleared their throat behind us. We jumped apart.

"As much as I adore romance and am perfectly fine with your show of affection, I have a feeling the others aren't as comfortable with it." Oshitari smirked and pushed his glasses up his nose. My face burned.

"Well, we better get going Kit-senpai. We don't want you to miss your train" I said trying to break the atmosphere surrounding us. Kit nodded then said goodbye to her new acquaintances.

"Bye, bye! Stop by my house when you feel like a match Akutagawa-kun!" She called then tugged on my sleeve. I gave her a smile and turned to give the boys a final wave.

Kit and Jiroh, how cute! Not any other Ki-Rin regulars in this chapter but there will be more of them soon! They have the beginning of the Kanto Regionals coming up! There's also more Kana and Chotarou fluff in this chapter! And if you didn't figure it out, the call Atobe got was from Ven. Please I love reviews!


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry about not updating for a little while. I wanted to get this chapter right.

Disclaimer: Eiji: Herondalefan doesn't own POT nya! She just owns the OC's like kawaii Echizen Marika!

Herondalefan: I worry about your obsession with that girl.

Tsuki

Today was the beginning of the Kanto Regionals and we were facing the counterparts of a national level team that Aniki faced in the boys Prefectures. They were called Fudomine. He told me not to underestimate them.

"Saa, it's a bad idea to think ill of them because of their unseeded status." I nodded over my bowl of lucky charms before cramming another spoonful into my mouth. If Syuusuke was wary of them then I'd better be careful. He didn't give respect where it wasn't due.

"Thanks Syuu-kun." I put my bowl in the sink and ran over to him to give a quick peck on the cheek. He smiled just a bit wider (I had to make up for the loss of Yuuta's affection… It was getting better since the matches between their schools though) and said a soft 'good luck' on my way out. Waving goodbye to Yumiko I ran out of the house and crammed my headphones in my ears. I couldn't wear my usual hoodie (stupid hoodless uniform) but my sideways hat was still in place. Skater shoes pounding on the sidewalk, bubbles popping from the gum in my mouth, I ran to the first round of the Kanto Regionals in my usual skater reminiscent style. I pouted mentally when I remembered that I had left my skateboard back at the house.

Kaa-san had always had fits when it came to my outfits. I had always preferred to wear lazy guy clothes and wouldn't have been caught dead in a skirt. You could imagine her excitement when she saw the female regular's uniform…

I located the courts and my eyebrow's raised. There were actual stands at these ones. Not a full out stadium but a decent sized place nonetheless.

Opening my bag I noticed my ever-faithful partner in crime… Murphy! My beloved pet snake. No one understood why I had named him such a common English name but I felt that he described his title to the fullest. I mean, he _was _the first garner snake to ever scare Mizuki Hajime.

Hearing some familiar voices behind the stands I zipped the bag back up and jogged over. Almost all of the team was there. Only Rika and Ven were missing. Both had probably slept in… again. No one ever wanted to wake the two of them up. Rika was grumpy to the extreme and Ven would show you the true meaning of Ice Princess.

Reina was leaning against the stands in a casual manner, flipping through her information books. Ruka was chatting away with Kit who was jumping up and down while hanging off of Kana. The Hag stood away from the others changing the grip tape on her racket. Luckily Ven and Rika chose that moment to come.

"We're here!" Rika said heavily as she panted. They must have run here all the way from Rika's house! Ruka beckoned us forward and we gathered in a lazy half circle in front of her.

"They might be unseeded, they might be no challenge at all, but lets give this our best effort!" She stuck her pointer finger in the air and struck a pose. The rest of us sweat dropped at her antics. Seriously, this was the all famous Ki-Rin tennis team's leader?

"These girls may be a little tricky." Reina spoke up, her eyes flashing dangerously. They warned us that if we lost, Ven's painful stretches would be waiting for us. I shivered at the thought.

"According to my data Fudomine prides themselves in singles three and doubles one much like Yamabuki. These players will be a lot tougher though. They have inspiration in their school. I'm sure you all know who Tachibana Kippei is?" We nodded. News of the wings of Kyushu had made its way to Tokyo.

"His younger sister An is singles three. A tricky player and a friend of Seigaku. She seems like a good girl so be kind to her. I don't know much about doubles one but keep your eyes peeled anyway." We nodded and turned back to Ruka. She just gave us a thumbs up before pulling out her list.

"Alright, first up is doubles two with the Hirimono and Yukimura pair. Better known as the Proper Pair! In doubles one is the Marui and Fuyu pair who are better known as the Twisted Two! Singles three this time around will be occupied by our residential 'Mastermind' Fuji Tsuki!" She clapped her hands together then ran off to submit our list. Ven turned to me and I registered the large mass of fluff in her arms.

"Did you bring Murphy with you again? I think we should introduce them." She said happily and I nodded. Pulling out my hissing buddy I placed him in front of Mimi-chan. Murphy just slid slightly over the side of her furry belly before rounding back to me.

"I think they like each other." Rika commented dryly before turning to the stands. People were starting to enter them. Her eyes widened slightly.

"I think the entire team of boy regulars are here to cheer on their female friends." Sure enough, when we turned around, boys wearing black uniforms with the Fudomine logo were chatting in the stands. One of them was talking happily with a light brown haired girl with grey/navy blue eyes. They looked similar to each other.

"The Tachibanas." Ven saw where I was looking and gave me a significant glance. So that was the girl I would be facing… She seemed okay.

A red haired emo styled boy ran up to the siblings and tried to join their conversation. Looked like someone had a crush by the blush on his face. I looked at An. She seemed to know that he did too. Huhuhuhu, I really might like this girl. Stretching, I heard the crack of my joints loosening up. An evil smile appeared on Ven's face.

"Would you.." She began. I didn't let her finish.

"No." I walked away before the slightly sadistic girl could convince me. NEVER take up Ven's offers to help with stretching.

"Game, Ki-Rin Academy versus Fudomine. Would the teams please enter the courts to start the game?" Eight girls in black hoodies with logos and white skirts walked onto the courts opposite of us. We entered as well with the usual chorus from our fan boys and girls (If you're wondering where the boys come from since we go to an all girl's school then here it is. They come from other schools to 'cheer' us on during practice and tournaments). Our purple skirts swished slightly in the wind and our schools name stood out boldly on our backs. We were intimidating, there was no other way to put it.

"I hope we have a good game." Ruka said to the other team's buchou. I guess they don't have a coach either. Fudomine's captain nodded her assent before bowing with the rest of us. Finally it was time for our matches to start.

"First match Doubles Two, Ki-Rin's Hirimono Ruka and Yukimura Mei pair versus…" I didn't pay attention to the rest. Reina said that this pair wouldn't be a threat so there was no need to worry.

She couldn't have been more right. They were pathetic at doubles. The girls just kept running in to each other and swinging their rackets for no reason. I was vaguely reminded of headless chickens when I watched them play. No reason to worry at all.

Third Person Fudomine's side of the courts

Tachibana An watched as the weakest girls on her team were massacred by Ki-Rin's Buchou and her partner. Both of their strength was so overwhelming that she wondered if even she would be able to stand a match against either of them. Yukimura. It rung a bell but she couldn't remember where she had heard it before. She turned to her elder brother.

"Onii-san, is the name Yukimura familiar to you?" She asked curiously. All of her elder brother's team turned to him as well, making it obvious they were listening in on them. Kippei nodded stoically.

"Hai. It's the family name of the current strongest boy's player in the middle school league. His name is Yukimura Seiichi. They're probably related. I can see some resemblance from the fuzzy memories I have of him." An nodded before turning back in her seat to watch the match progress. An icy feeling had developed in the pit of her stomach. They had the strongest boy's sister playing doubles two? Was everyone on the team some kind of monster then? She gulped down the lump in her throat and set her face in a determined expression. She would do her onii-san proud!

Tsuki

An and her brother were talking about something and they kept eyeing the Hag. For the safety of their health I hope they don't insult her. The woman has crazy good aim when using her tennis racket as a bat.

"Match Ki-Rin's Hirimono Ruka and Yukimura Mei pair. Six games to love." As expected Buchou and the Hag did well. They were barely sweating while their opponents lay decimated on the courts. Their team had to haul them away. It was our Twisted Two next.

"Next match is Doubles One, Ki-Rin's Marui Kitimo and Fuyu Kanari pair versus Fudomine's Sugasi Aya and Sato Hitomi pair." Announcer dude said. The vibrant pinkette and the motherly whitette (?) walked onto the courts and were met by an interesting sight.

A petite pretty girl with short, messy silver hair and bright silver eyes stood across from them in the Fudomine uniform. She had on a red and white stripped fuzzy socks that went to her knees and she was smiling widely.

Next to her was a contrasting girl of average height. She had dark red hair that was in a ponytail similar to Reina's but was shorter. She had coal black eyes, a nose ring, and a blank expression on her face. She looked like the sort that would be a chain smoker in the future but other than her style didn't look particularly vicious.

"Ja, let's have a fun game." The spiky silver haired girl said. Her legs resembled candy canes.

"Of course!" Kit squealed and smiled a smile that made angels jealous. Kana patted her head in an affectionate way.

"Ya, lets have… fun…" The pierced girl said softly. It was if she was there in body but not mind…

They shook hands and quickly decided who got first serve. Both sides walked to their positions. The silver girl (Sugasi Aya) was in the front while the stoic girl (Sato Hitomi) was at the baseline. Both looked focused and ready. Reina didn't have any data on them so I was curious about their style of play.

"First serve goes to Ki-Rin's Fuyu." Kana was in her position for Pitching Serve. The fast and furious ball didn't give the opponents a chance in the first set.

"Marui and Fuyu pair, One game to love." It was a given. The serve was difficult to return and it wasn't a large burden on Kana. Fudomine would crack from the pressure. Kit skipped over to Kana and gave her a quick high five. Sugasi and Sato were discussing something at the baseline. They were probably discussing how they would overcome the serve… You needed special training to beat it and you couldn't achieve that in a single match.

"Kana's in the zone today." Ven chirped from my side. She was stroking her ever-loyal rabbit and her sapphire orbs were glued to the match. I nodded in agreement.

"She really does have wonderful form today." Sugasi and Sato had finished talking and were back in position. The look in their eyes had changed.

"Those two have something up their sleeve." I said. I could see it. Their eyes were giving everything away. You can't cut off the emotions going to your eyes and the people who can have years and years of practice. Like Rika, You just can never read her movements or features on the courts. She is utterly unpredictable.

Sato served and started off the next rally when suddenly Sugasi's movements changed drastically. It was like she could appear anywhere in the court in an instant. One second she was on the right side close to the net and the next she was on the left closer to the baseline. The Hag was the first one to voice it out.

"She's using a Split Step." Rika, Ven and myself all nodded in agreement. Sugasi Aya was performing an extremely advanced version of the one-footed split step. With this technique she was able to turn in midair without touching the ground and she never really ran. It was more accurate to say she was bounding across the court. Maybe that was part of the reason she wore knee high fuzzy socks, we wouldn't be able to see her defined leg muscles as clearly and figure out her game.

"Sugasi and Sato pair, one all." The stoic girl and the spritely girl high fived before turning to Kana, it was her serve again.

"Marui and Fuyu pair, two games to one." It didn't take long at all. I think Kana was a little miffed about them taking away their last game. So the pattern continued since Kana and Kit forced the other team to divulge their other trick. Sato specialized in fast shots with a gyro spin in them. A tricky shot to return but not impossible, especially not for Kit. She had based her style off of her brother's doubles partner's… Apparently he was like a wall of defense and was able to neutralize almost any shot. That was when the girl's style of play finally kicked in. Kit would return any ball and lull them into a false sense of security then she would let one get past her and Kana would strike, strong and true. They were a wonderful combination with amazing doubles sense. But they couldn't just partner with anybody… We already tried that with me… I really am absolutely **horrible** at doubles.

"Game goes to Marui and Fuyu pair, six games to three." Announcer guy said.

"You two are sugoi!" Sugasi squealed happily when they shook hands. Her silver locks were bouncing and her matching eyes sparkling. A very kawaii girl indeed.

"Thanks! You not to shabby yourself!" Kit replied with a grin. Kana and Sato shook hands in a comfortable silence that acknowledged the others strength then they left the courts.

Third Person Fudomine's side of the courts

They had lost. Fudomine's best doubles pair had lost their game and she was next.

"Good luck An-chan!" Kamio yelled happily. She gave him an appreciative smile before turning to the rest of Kippei's team.

"You will do well An-san…" Shinji said before moving on and mumbling something else about how Ki-Rin was full of them selves just because they had one nationals every year for a long time. She sweat dropped in unison along with everyone else in earshot.

"I know you will do well An." Kippei said with a smile and An smiled happily, she was in much better spirits until she heard the announcer.

"Next match is Fudomine's Tachibana An versus Ki-Rin's Fuji Tsuki." An's blood ran cold. Fuji? That had to be some kind of sick joke. There was no way she was going up against one if the tensai's relatives… Until she heard the cheers she was in denial.

"Mastermind! Mastermind! MASTERMIND!" The Ki-Rin fans screamed louder than they ever had before. Only one of the Fuji's would be nicknamed Mastermind… She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard the referee calling out to her.

"Ne, An-san, are you going to participate in the match or not?" An-san!? What stranger had the gall to call her by her first name without permission? She broke out of her trance to give the girl a right talking to when she was suddenly struck speechless.

A strangely eccentric girl stood in front of her. She was gorgeous with two long ponytails that fell to her waist and were the exact same shade as Fuji's hair. Definitely a relative. Then she had slim cat-like silver eyes that were familiar on a St. Rudolph player. She had a brimmed hat on sideways and was clearly not wearing tennis shoes but something that looked close to DC's. While the two's gazes were locked together the pretty girl blew a purple bubble in between them.

"Your pretty kawaii." The girl stated bluntly and An spluttered slightly. Did a female seriously just call her cute? Her tormenter snickered at her discomfort before lolling to her side of the courts. An followed and walked to her side.

"Smooth or rough?" The teasing girl said in a bored tone but her eyes shone with mischief.

"Smooth." An answered after regaining her composure. Tsuki nodded and spun it expertly. Of course, because luck did not seem to be on An's side today, it landed on rough.

"Brilliant." The brunette said with a grin before strutting her way to the baseline.

"First serve goes to Ki-Rin's Fuji." The announcer said.

Tsuki 

She was panicking the poor thing. Generally a compliment on looks from a random female is enough to startle any girl but Tachibana An was already in an unstable state before I toyed with her. You shouldn't make yourself nervous like that before a match. If I was Rika I would probably tell her to calm down so she would play better, but I'm not. I'm Fuji Tsuki and I do not make someone's mindset more stable. It ruins the main point of my tennis.

I bounced the ball a few times and looked at her. The determination was starting to creep back into her so I had to act fast. Literally, I had to serve a really quick ball.

I locked eyes with Ven briefly, giving her a silent apology, before hitting that ace serve of hers. I wasn't as flexible as she was so toes didn't touch the back of my head but it was enough. The serve did the job and frightened An into a mental corner. Her eyes were twitching and I could almost hear her quick panting breaths. To others she would probably appear calm and just a bit stiff but I could see her internally freaking out. I never said my tennis was nice.

"Fuji 30-0." I used the serve again and the effects were immediate. She was cornered and didn't know what to do. I threw the ball up again before jumping up after it. WHACK! I was stunned. That was the only word for it. I think An was too by the looks of it. Maybe her body had reacted by itself out of her stress? Somehow she had returned the serve. Maybe that wouldn't have been so shocking to me if she hadn't returned it on the third try! Syu-nii was right to not underestimate them. A Tachibana's determination is something to be feared.

After a few more tries I won the first game but I wasn't satisfied. The lion-like persona that her brother was so well known for was hidden inside of An. I just knew it. Maybe she had an easy flaring temper or something but her tennis was about to show.

"You are about to see my tennis Fuji. Be grateful." An said in a slightly mocking voice. She was starting to enjoy this.

"Awe me An-san." She twitched violently at my name and I grinned.

"Don't call me my first name without permission!" She huffed and I laughed.

"Many apologies… **An~san**." I sang her name to her and she muttered grumpily. Well at least I wasn't calling her Tachibana's imouto!

An threw the ball in the air and hit a pretty normal serve but I was still on guard. She had something planned, I was sure of it. We hit a rally back and forth for a while before An got into a peculiar stance. Her left leg traveled further forward while her right arm and leg moved backwards into a pointed stance. When she hit the ball and I finally got a good look at her shot it occurred to me that I shouldn't have been surprised. Tachibana Kippei was known for his 'Wild Ball' or Abare Dama so shouldn't his sister have illusion related tennis too? The ball was high speed and hitting five points quickly giving the illusion that a yellow star was flying to your side of the court.

"Star Shot." Was all An said.

"Very interesting." I muttered. I closed my eyes and reexamined the shot. Because of the constant moving I could try to look at the shadow but that wouldn't do much good. Should I bring out the closed eye technique this early in the tournaments? Buchou would skin me alive so I would have to find another way. Maybe if I listen to the place where the ball is positioned while it's moving towards me…

We start up another rally and An moves into position. I listen closely as the shot soars towards me and memorize the movements. I have an IQ of 218 for a reason you know. The match went to me (of course) but An put up a valiant fight. I did have to throw away a few games to get a hang of Star Shot but I still got it in the end.

"Well done Fuji-san." An shook my hand at the net and I smiled. I had won 6-3 but it had been fun.

"Some goes to you… An-san." I replied slyly and she rolled her eyes.

"Match goes to Ki-Rin Academy. They move on to Round Two of the Kanto Regionals." Cheering was heard throughout the courts and I waved happily at the jabbering fans. A few boys swooned at the attention and I smirked. A little bit later I found myself walking in sync with a sleepy redhead that was stroking her precious bunny.

"I'm absolutely exhausted." Ven yawned. Annoyance shot through me.

"You didn't even play a match." I muttered and she shrugged.

"Watching a tensai play never fails to drain me." Leave it to Ven to annoy you and compliment you at the same time. I just shook my head and jogged in the direction of home. I had brothers to brag to, pranks to plan, and general chaos to pursue. But one can never have what they wish for.

"Excuse me, can we speak with you for a second." A tall boy with a dot in the middle of his forehead and short black hair stood in front of me with a blank expression.

"Anytime Tachibana Kippei." I answered easily and I turned around to face his team. How did they get to me so quickly and what did they want?

"We are the Fudo…" I interrupted redhead emo punk haired boy's introduction.

"The Fudomine boy's regulars. I know who you are." I said blandly. Redhead didn't look pleased at my disinterest.

"Then why don't you look the least bit curious if you know who we are?" He shouted unhappily. I sighed at the immature boy's antics and suppressed a yawn. It wouldn't be good to push him much farther. In response to his question I just shrugged.

"First I would like to congratulate your win against my sister. She isn't an easy opponent." Tachibana said, I just nodded and a dark blue haired boy started muttering something or the other underneath his breath about my impassiveness to the whole situation.

"Secondly, I wanted to know about your last name Fuji. I was curious to whether or not you are related to Fuji Syuusuke." My eyes narrowed. I was no Yuuta but that didn't mean I liked being compared to Syuusuke. We were two completely different people; we weren't even the same gender for goodness sake!

"Does it matter if I am or not?" I questioned in a quiet tone that made my displeasure known. Tachibana shrugged.

"Not particularly. I just wanted to satisfy my need to pry." I sighed deeply and figured that it wouldn't do any harm.

"Fuji Syuusuke is my Aniki." Tachibana's eyebrows raised and the rest of his team was in various stages of shock. I didn't really understand why I always got this reaction whenever I told someone the truth. I had always thought that Syuusuke and I looked a lot alike. I quickly bowed to the tennis team.

"I should get home soon so my family doesn't worry." I turned around and strolled across the entrance to the tennis courts to grab Ven (who had been playing with Mimi-chan during my interrogation) and dragged her out of the premises.

So this was all from the Mastermind's POV. Very interesting to see the way her mind works… And a little disturbing. Not any romance in this chapter so I apologize for that but Fudomine made an appearance! I'm really sorry if An is OOC. I didn't really know how to work with her character in this kind of situation! Yes Tsuki plays mind games in her tennis and can use the closed eye technique like her brother. Bt that's just the beginning of Tsuki's tennis. What is with mysterious tennis playing Fuji's? Please review!


	15. Chapter 15

I had so much fun writing this chapter. Hehehehe Fruit-to-go's…

Disclaimer: Reina: Herondalefan doesn't own POT. She only owns the OC's and if she ever says differently I'll get my good friend Jason to come and *Herondalefan places hand over mouth*

Herondalefan: I think they get the gist of it. Don't scar them.

Reina: *pouts*

Mei

"For the last time, no senpai!" I huffed. I was standing in the foyer wearing my school uniform and was trying to pry a whining pinkette off of me.

"But don't you want to see his team? I know you haven't seen Renji-nii and Genichirou-nii in ages." I blanched at my old nicknames for my brother's best friends. It's true I haven't seen them in ages. I'm always at the hospital when they're having practice so we haven't run into each other in ages. Kit pounced onto my wavering disposition.

"They're practice is starting late today and we don't have one at all so we could make it." Her eyes were wide and pleading. My resolve crumbled further. It was true. As a treat for winning the first round of Regional's against Fudomine, Ruka told us we had the day off. But we would still have to leave classes early and that would constitute skipping… One more glance into those watering eyes and I broke down.

"Fine, I'll go with you." Kit squealed happily and hugged me around the middle before bouncing away. Skipping class was completely against my lady-like persona and morals but I really wanted to see my 'brothers'. They were an odd pair but I liked them.

I realized I was just standing in the middle of the foyer staring at nothing like a dunder-head so I briskly made my way to my final period class. It was Japanese and my teacher was a grumpy middle-aged man who despised all students. He seemed to despise me a little less than the others though. If I played my cards right than maybe I could go early.

My brother sob story wouldn't work because I would never sink to that level. Asking him outright with a stifling ice princess aura wouldn't work either because he was immune. That meant I would have to pull a Ruka. As much as I loved my buchou and doubles partner, I wasn't exactly impressed by the lengths she would go to leave class early. Sure they were effective tactics but I just couldn't imagine how silly I would look when using them.

All throughout class I painted my kanji's with perfect precision in an effortless yet graceful style. To some it would look like I was absorbed in my work but inside I was utter turmoil. The minutes ticked by too quickly and the time for me to leave had come. I packed up my stuff and headed to the front of the classroom. My sensei glared at me.

"And where do you think your going Yukimura?" Hotori-sensei asked. He was glaring at me with hostility and I inwardly reprimanded myself before deepening my voice and looking up at him through my eyelashes.

"I have some very important business to attend to, family matters, so I must leave this class early." I placed my work on his desk. It was finished and I knew all of the answers were correct. Hotori-sensei narrowed his eyes at me but I let out a slow breath and batted my eyelashes at him. He practically melted at the sight and I wanted to gag. I know I had brought this image on myself but that didn't make it any less disgusting. My sensei nodded numbly and I almost sprinted out of the classroom. I don't think I'll ever be able to see him the same way again. He was turned into a pile of goo by a girl fifty years his junior!

Shaking off the shivers I met up with my senpai at the school gates. She was smiling and bubbly like always. I bet she just had to give her teacher doe eyes and was immediately let go.

"You ready to go?" She tittered and I nodded. We had barely made it four steps before we were called to a halt.

"Where do you think your going, you two?" Dang buchou, she figures out everything despite her ditsyness. She strode towards us with a calculating expression and I desperately tried to think of a lie that would set us free. Ruka's eyes flashed menacingly.

"You didn't think I would let skipping school off so easily did you?" Kit and I gulped in unison at the evil look on Ruka's face. A crazy grin broke out over her features.

"You have to take Tsuki-chan with you." I froze. This had to be the sickest punishment I had ever been given. The brat? I had to take her to Kanagawa to meet my brother's teammates? I wanted to cry if I hadn't been so dignified.

Instead I just nodded curtly and the obnoxious sound of popping gum entered my field of hearing. The brat herself sidled up to us and was blasting music away into her eardrums. Doesn't she know that she can wreck her hearing system that way?

I just locked my jaw from screaming at her and risk getting caught cutting class. Kit said her goodbyes to my doubles partner and I dragged my kohai out of campus. Needless to say, I wasn't pleased. The trickstress just rolled her eyes at my actions and continued chomping her gum.

We reached the train station quicker than anticipated because of my pace and Kit quickly bought us tickets. The train ride was a long one that was filled with Kit and Tsuki chatting while I silently switched from fuming at the situation I was in and wondering what the Rikkaidai practice will be like. I know my brother is strict with his teammates when he is in charge so I can only imagine the increases that have come with that now that Genichirou is filling in as buchou. The pressure he must be feeling would be immense.

The train ride was over and I was now in the streets of my hometown. Kit starting walking in the direction of the school and I followed with The Brat in tow. Senpai knew where she was going despite never having been to the school before. She had told me earlier that she had gotten directions from her brother this morning. Buildings started to get lower the closer we got to the school and the area was obviously close to the ocean. I could hear the waves in the distance. Finally the school came into view. It was impressive I'd give it that. It was several stories and was surrounded by a brick wall that bore the schools name. The Brat let out a low whistle.

"Nice place. Nothing compared to The Academy of course but high end all the same." The tiny tensai gave an appreciating nod before entering the grounds. I quickly followed after her and Kit followed me.

The closer we got to the side of the school the clearer we heard the 'pocking' of tennis balls… and a very familiar voice's yelling. Genichirou was as intense as ever. The scene unfolded out before us and a smile took over my face. Both of them were there and installing different forms of discipline. Renji was telling a purple haired boy with glasses about something, probably a training menu.

Genichirou was yelling at a curly black haired boy who was cowering at his wrath and I couldn't blame him. The stern boy was intimidating at the best of times but if you got him angry he was scary.

Kit was quivering with excitement when she spotted her mirror image playing a dark skinned bald boy. I raised an eyebrow when I saw Marui Bunta for the first time. It was rather startling at how similar the two looked despite the gender difference. The Brat took one look at her senpai's eagerness to get to her twin before wrapping her arms around her and hauling her to the side to watch. I followed in case the squirming girl escaped and caused a ruckus. The reason we were here was to watch them anyway, not bombard them.

The entire Rikkaidai team was superb. It was obvious when they played that they were a stellar team. I briefly wondered what would happen if they went against us. We were scarily strong for a girl's team and I would like to put the twins against each other. Who would win? Kit or Bunta?

The fans here couldn't rival ours but there was a fair amount. Every regular had a fan there.

"Fire! Jackal-san!" Some of them screamed and Kit pointed at the bald boy playing her brother. I figured that was Jackal.

"Niou! Trickster! Niou!" They screamed/whined. A silver haired boy with a rat-tail, blue eyes and a beauty marked gave the girls a sly grin before going back to warming up. The twinkle in his eyes was so close to Tsuki's that a shiver went down my spine. I prayed right then and there that the two never got the chance to meet each other.

"Gentleman Yagyuu!" Another squealed and the purple haired boy that had been talking to Renji-nii before gave them a courteous nod before walking over to Niou.

"Junior Ace Kirihara!" Some young girls shouted and the curly black haired boy winked at them. It seemed he had been released from Genichirou-nii's wrath. The girls shouted said boy's name and Renji-nii's name but both boys ignored them.

"Marui!" The girls chorused and Kit's twin grinned at them before blowing a green bubble.

"Green apple huh?" Tsuki said before blowing a bubble of her own. The purple one was close to the colour of Kit's and Bunta's eyes. "I prefer grape."

When looking at the fan girls Marui's eyes landed on his doppelganger and a true smile broke out on his face. He energetically waved at Kit and she returned his enthusiasm with a wave of her own. Tsuki looked back and forth between the two.

"I'm going to go grab a fruit bar from one of the machines." Mastermind announced and flitted away from the courts. I watched her go before turning back to Kit… who was no longer beside me. After a brief moment of panic I saw her at the door into the tennis courts and running to hug her brother.

It was like watching a scene from a movie. Both were running towards each other surrounded by sparkles and no one else in sight. Tears were streaming down both of their faces as they called one another's names and they met in the middle in a reunion hug. I briefly pondered if this was the effects of the over consumption of sugar and fat until I saw a dark aura creep into the twins shimmering moment. Genichirou really didn't like it when random girls interrupted his precious practices.

"What's going on here and why aren't you practicing?" He yelled at Kit and Bunta. The male twin was alarmed but no one was prepared for the female twin's reaction. Kit burst into tears and clung to Bunta and Genichirou abruptly stopped his rage. I guess he didn't realize how softhearted Kit is. She once told me about all of the things she's afraid of. It took an hour to get through the entire list.

Kit was a sobbing shaking pile on the courts while all of the regulars just stared at her, at a complete loss at what to do. Well except Bunta. He just sat down and patted her head in a comforting way. I sighed and walked onto the courts to pick up the pieces of my hysteric senpai. I walked past the line of talented tennis playing boys and crouched down next to her.

"Senpai, Genichirou-nii didn't mean to scare you like that. He just wanted to continue his practice and I told you not to interrupt when it was still going. No matter how much you wanted to see your brother." I spoke in an almost bored voice but Kit uncurled from her position all the same. She peered at stern boy with watery eyes while all of the other regulars were looking at me. Was it something I said?

"Gomen'nasai." She said bowing. Some of the regulars gasped when she straightened up and Renji-nii started to scribble something in his notebook. Kirihara recovered from his shock.

"You look like Marui-senpai in a skirt!" He shouted bluntly and I sweat dropped. He needed to learn some tact. Kit pouted.

"I'm Bunta's twin sister, Marui Kitimo!" She huffed. I got up and placed a hand on my senpai's shoulder.

"I'm very sorry for interrupting your practice." I looked Genichirou in the eyes and he looked taken aback. I guess he was wondering who would dare call him by his given name.

"Mei-chan! It's been awhile." Renji exclaimed. His eyes opened slightly and I gave them both a smile.

"It's good to see the both of you too." It really was. I hadn't seen them for almost an entire year and I used to see them all the time.

"You know each other?" Yagyuu asked politely. I let a small grace my lips.

"My name is Yukimura Mei. I'm Seiichi's imouto." Silence followed my introduction and all of the regulars (except Genichirou and Renji) stared at me with their mouths agape. In fingered my bohemian braids nervously as their eyes bored into me. Kit was just hugging her stunned brother happily. The fukubuchou of the Rikkaidai tennis team broke the silence.

"How do you two know each other?" Sanada asked.

"We're both regulars at Ki-Rin!" Kit cheered happily. She still had her brother in a strangle hold. Kirihara's eyes glinted.

"Buchou's imouto is a regular? I want to play you!" He demanded excitedly. Genichirou's aura came back and Kit leaned away.

"Tarundoru!" He hit Kirihara in the back of the head and we all winced. Poor guy. Sanada turned back to me with a disapproving look on his face.

"If you're a regular then shouldn't you be at practice?" I quickly calmed down his anger.

"We have the day off," I said in a soothing voice. "So Kit and I decided to come see your practice." Genichirou nodded his approval.

"Aren't you in the middle of Regionals right now?" Renji asked and I nodded my head in response.

"Why don't you practice with us then. We're playing matches today to test each other's strength." I thought about it and decided it would be a good idea.

"Did your whole team come or just you two?" Genichirou said suddenly and I suddenly remembered The Brat who was taking far too long with her fruit bar.

"No my brat of a kohai came with us but she disappeared to find a vending machine." When I finished my sentence a loud scream was heard left of the courts. It had a male undertone to it even though it was high pitched.

"That was probably caused by her." Kit said in a bubbly matter-of-the-fact voice. I felt a dull headache throb in the back of my head and I rubbed my temples. What kind of mischief was she getting into now? Myself, Kit and the regulars ran to the source of the noise and found a disturbing sight. Tsuki was happily chomping on a fruit-to-go while sitting a three knocked out male bodies. I gasped at the predicament The Brat had brought upon us. The tensai gave us a look.

"They tried to steal my fruit bar." She said it as though that was all the explanation that was needed. And with The Brat it was.

"I don't understand. You don't know martial arts." Kit said with a puzzled expression on her face. Tsuki just pointed at a low hanging bar that was beside the machine. Realization dawned on the innocent girl's face. Geniuses would be able to make people hit their heads on bars.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet the tensai of the Ki-Rin tennis team, Fuji Tsuki." All of the boys were struck speechless whether by her looks, the scene they had entered, or her last name I wasn't sure.

"Yo." She gave them a victory sign with her tongue poking out before jumping off the pile of bodies. The regulars still hadn't recovered from their states of shock. Tsuki padded up to Niou and flicked him between the eyes. It drew him out of his daze and she turned to us.

"So what are we doing?" The rest of the regulars slowly broke out of their shocked states and Sanada answered her.

"We are going to be playing matches against each other." He looked at her skeptically as though she might try to lure the rest of us to the bar as well. Tsuki just nodded her assent and we made our way back to the courts. Renji cleared his throat and opened his data book.

"Since we have guests today we will just be having singles matches that include them. First up, Yukimura Mei vs. Niou Masaharu." The fan girls who my teammates and I had been ignoring suddenly started screaming for their beloved regular at full volume.

"Trickster beat her!"

"Crush the intruder Niou-sama!" I rolled my eyes at their choice of words and glided onto the court. Niou met me at the net and I faintly heard Kirihara whining about how he didn't get to play me.

"I feel so honored that I get to play you. I'm curious about you play style." He gave me a cocky smile before offering the honor of first serve. I walked to the baseline and bounced the ball a few times.

Seiichi had given me a basic overview about his teammates and their styles. From what I remember about Niou Masaharu he specialized in tricking his opponent with amazing illusions. He could also pick up on small habits easily.

I concentrated on the way his body moved as he swayed from side to side, waiting for my serve. I could see the muscles in his arms and legs contracting and detracting but I needed more to work with. I needed to know how flexible he was and the way his body wanted to bend.

I served quickly and we went immediately into a rally. Both of us were analyzing each other's movements and I wondered how much he was taking in. He gave off a Tsuki-like vibe so I was on my guard. I didn't want to be trumped by the Swindler of the Court.

It didn't take me as long to gather the information I needed as it did during the match against Yamabuki since I was only playing one person. So when I was down 1-2 I knew I had enough info to hit it.

My sure fire Anatomy Shot. The spin on it is designed to send shocks up an over stressed arm and cause it to spasm. It was my only finishing apart from my Da Vinci Return. I was still working on finishing that one but it was an expanded version of Anatomy Shot. It caused contractions all over the body but I only used it in desperate situations. Those contractions could be dangerous if the opponents stress levels were already sky rocketing and it might cause them to have heart failure.

I focused all of my energy into my left arm and hit the balls sweet spot, sending shuddering spins into the ball. Niou had sharp eyes and looked confused at my shot but he stretched to reach it anyway. I could tell he regretted it the moment the ball touched his racket. For a second the ball paused on it before blowing the racket out of his hand. His arm was contorting and Niou let out a gasp of pain.

He just stood there and held his arm while everyone else looked on with disbelief. A muscle in Niou's jaw jumped as he grimaced in discomfort and I decided to sooth his fears.

"It should stop in a minute or so." He glanced at me with darkened eyes and I knew he was thinking up all kinds of _lovely_ things to het back at me. It's at times like these that people tend to forget that I'm their buchou's precious baby sister and just want revenge. I could hear The Brat's menacing chuckles at the look on my opponent's face.

As always the effects wore off and Niou regained use of his arm again. But something went wrong. His likeness to Tsuki became apparent in the way he reacted afterwards. He became even more aggressive than before and no matter how many shots I hit he didn't back down. Then, just for a second, I caught a glimpse of his illusion. He didn't even need to continue playing because one look at his face rendered me incapable of playing. Blue hair falling around defined, almost effeminate features. Dark blue eyes and wearing his jersey around his shoulders, my brother back on the tennis courts sent me reeling. It ended 7-5 for Niou and I was still in a state of shock/panic. To outside observers I was my usual cool and collected self but inside I was a sobbing mess. Tsuki walked up to my opponent and placed a hand on his arm. She gave him an appraising look.

"Well played but harsh." He gave her a flirtatious smile in return and she sashayed onto the court. She must have been called next while I was recovering…

"Ne, You ready to play **Yeah~Gyou**?"

Cliffy! So Mei's weak point is that she is easily deceived by illusions and she is extremely protective of her brother. Tsuki is so smart she can trick people into causing injury to them… and she has a strange craving for fruit-to-go's. Mei considers Yanagi and Sanada her brothers and Kit and Bunta's closeness is something to be feared. How will Tsuki's match with Yagyuu turn out? Who will Kit play? Review!


	16. Chapter 16

Sorry that I haven't updated in so long! Gomenasai! I hope the fluff in this chapter makes up for it!

Disclaimer: Bunta: Herondalefan does not own POT! If she did everybody would hail my genius!

Herondalefan: Well not necessarily, I mean I couldn't have done a better job than…

Bunta: *crazed look in eye* Am I not a tensai?!

Herondalefan: He hasn't had sugar yet! I'm sure of it! Jackal, where are you!

Tsuki

"Ne, You ready to play **Yeah~Gyou**?" Said boy pushed his glasses further up his nose and nodded stiffly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Niou flash his teammate a grin and I was able to put the puzzle pieces together. The two boys were stretching together and seemed to have a natural gravitational pull towards each other whenever the other was around. My guess was that they were doubles partners. Hmm, I was playing the doubles partner of a renowned trickster. So the likelihood that he would be fooled by my tricks, small.

"Rough or smooth?" My purple haired opponent asked in a rich voice. I flashed him a mischievous smile.

"Rough." He nodded again and spun his racket. I tossed my own gold racket from hand to hand in my impatience to get the match started. The racket landed on rough and I smirked triumphantly.

"Service." I said happily.

"End." He answered. I walked quickly to the baseline and surveyed my opponent before starting. His physique was that of someone who played serve and volley and his arm muscles in particular were defined. He must have a high speed shot that could be produced as a result from those. I bounced the ball a few times and quickly served. It was nothing special, only a shot to test out his skills. Yagyuu returned my serve easily and we began to rally. He was capable of making fast shots, of that I was now certain. He also had the intellect to see through some of my tricks, I could practically feel his eyes burning into me from behind those glasses.

"Shouldn't you focus more on the match and less on me **Yeah~Gyou**? It's impolite to stare you know." He faltered slightly in his movements and I quickly spotted an opening. I hit a fast shot to his right foot and he stumbled slightly.

"Fifteen love." I'm sure that was a pure fluke. The boy was an impressive player. That much was clear with the info I had gathered from playing him but I saw how he reacted to being called 'impolite'. It must have been the first time in his life that has happened to him.

I bounced the ball again a few times and contemplated on my next move. Another rally began and I tried to figure out this boy's play style. Definitely serve and volley but his shots were fast. He won the first match but that was just because I was gathering info. He knew I was too so he tried to hide his talent, he really did, but I saw through his attempts. Nothing can fool a tricksteress! His winning streak continued till I was down 4-0 and I knew it was time. He wouldn't be fooled by my tricks so I had to show him my style.

We were rallying again and I figured I'd show him one of my Solar System Drives. (For those of you at home who don't know what my name means in English I'll explain more clearly. Tsuki means moon so all of the names of my shots have to do with space related things. Like the Mercury Drive I am about to use.) I was on the service line in the center after Yagyuu hit a fast shot to the center. It had a little backspin and I hit it before it could reach the ground adding even more backspin. It shot over the net before making a sudden 90-degree angle plunge towards the ground. Those watching fell silent and I exhaled slowly.

Mei

The shocked looks around the court were nothing compared to how I was feeling. I knew Tsuki was losing but it was obvious she wasn't struggling with the game. But to actually pull one of her drives out when it wasn't even an actual match? I could only hope that the Rikkaidai girl's team was too busy with their practice to have seen that.

"What was that?" Kirihara demanded. He looked to be somewhere between the far off lands of angry and impressed. I tried to squish down my irritation of his awe of that brat. I was not jealous at all, okay maybe a tiny bit, but that's not very ladylike so I hid it. Genichirou tilted his head in my direction to let me know he was listening too. Renji did the same but his pen was quivering in anticipation. I could only hope that none of this reached their girls.

"You are not to tell _them_ of it." I spoke sternly and gave particular emphasis in Renji's direction. The pen disappeared but I was still doubtful.

"Tsuki-san is known as Ki-Rin's tricksteress and mastermind. Her IQ is off the charts and her need to play with people is unlimited but that isn't her worst weapon. You must remember that her last name is Fuji and that inventiveness flows through her veins. The mischievous girl came up with a whole slew of shots that could rival her older brother's counters and named them after various space objects. That shot is known as Mercury Drive and I haven't seen it since our last game against each other." It was truly a tricky shot to return but not impossible. So when the game had gone up to 4-3 in Yagyuu's favor and he finally returned it I wasn't all that surprised. Personally I think that's her weakest drive.

I can still remember when she attacked me with them. I was finished with her Saturn Return but I can still remember her match with fukubuchou. No matter how many of those planet shots she threw at her Reina-san returned them all with a cold calculating aura. Even her Uranus Drop Shot had been useless! Only the Jupiter Serve did her any good and that only lasted a game before it's secrets were unraveled.

Tsuki

He had figured out Mercury Drive and I'll admit that if my hands weren't full right now I'd probably applaud him but I could sense a power shift during our next rally. He was readying himself for something when suddenly he stiffened and his racket arm snapped forward.

"Adieu!" He said and I could just sense the high speed shot fly past me.

"It's the Laser Beam!"

"Good Job Yagyuu-sama! Show her who's in charge!" The Gentlemen pushed up his glasses with his forefinger and middle finger and out of the corner of my eye I saw Niou grinning. It was certainly getting exciting now.

"Laser Beam huh?" I remarked and he nodded tersely. My lip twitched. There was no need for him to be so tense at the whole situation! It took me another time watching the shot before I could return it then I felt the reins of the game switch to my side again. What should I use? He could already return my Mercury Drive so should I use my Venus Drive?

Once again Yagyuu hit it towards the middle of the court probably expecting another Mercury Drive when I hit three times as much backspin as before. The ball rushed over the net just barely missing it before hitting the ground and bouncing… quickly towards the center of the net. It was sort of like a zero shiki drop shot on steroids. Of course Aphrodite probably wouldn't like that description very much.

"Venus Drive." The Hag absentmindedly murmured before muttering some intelligible things. I wondered if the use of my shots brought back any bad memories for her. The rest of the game went in my favor and I won 6-4, a comeback from 0 but never mind that. I walked off the court and quickly pulled a small towel to wipe my face off with.

"Your pretty good Fuji-san." A deep voice complimented and I felt a smile tug at my lips.

"Your not too bad yourself Niou-kun." I replied and pulled my hat on making sure it was off centered. The handsome boy was leaning against the fence in a casual manner and his turquoise eyes sparkled with mirth. I'm young but even I am drawn into my flirting nature when such guys are near. Don't judge me, I like the mischievous ones.

I quickly exited the courts and lazily strolled up to the silver headed boy.

"So a little birdie told me that you are the Trickster of Rikkaidai, Niou Masaharu. Am I right?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Funny, I have a feeling that the same little bird told me you are the Mastermind of Ki-Rin, Fuji Tsuki." I quirked an eyebrow in a manner similar to his and I couldn't help the small smirk that appeared on my face.

"Critters with wings these days. They're such gossipers." I commented mildly and he chuckled.

"That was quite the impressive show you put on earlier all in the name of a fruit-to-go."

"It was a fruit-to-go Niou-kun. Not an All Bran bar." He nodded in consent before I noticed a questionable object poking out of his pocket.

"So tell me, do you carry glue on you at all times or is one of your victims going to suddenly show up during practice?" His eyes slid to the mentioned container and the look on his face sent a delightful tingle down my spine. I wondered who was targeted. At that moment a "Gah!" sound resonated from around the courts and I saw that Kirihara guy trying desperately to rid his hair of the sticky substance. His tennis bag was open next to him. I clucked my tongue.

"I'm sure you can do better than that. Isn't glue just the tiniest bit childish?" His eyes sparkled again and he leaned down so he could speak in my ear.

"Ne Tsuki-san, what you need to remember is that when you are dealing with childish people like Bakaya is that the best pranks are the ones that suit their personality." I fought the goose bumps that were threatening to rise and I faintly heard Sanada yelling something behind me. Niou raised his eyes from mine and looked over my shoulder.

"Looks like I have to run laps." He sent me another impish grin with his tongue poking out slightly.

"Piyo." He turned around quickly and he was off. I debated briefly about whether or not I should join him before I decided to allow him time to think. I had always found laps to be a wonderful time to contemplate future pranks and the firing of teachers. Speaking of which I had this calligraphy teacher (The Hag had him too but that wasn't important) who was just the creepiest guy you'll ever meet. He's probably going to be my next victim.

I glanced at the court and was in for a momentary heart stutter. For a second I thought I was looking at two Kit-senpai's (Which would be dreadful) but then I remembered about the existence of Marui Bunta and all was well once again. So they had the twin's going against each other? Sweet Thing vs. The Self-Proclaimed Tensai (Kit had told us of his many rants about his brilliance). You'd think they would have similar play styles but from what I've heard they don't. Not to mention that they've played each other their entire lives so they know all of each other's moves. Kit relies on speed and stamina, one of which Marui critically lacks. But those volleys really are the product of a genius. Who would win this battle?

I apologize for all spelling mistakes. This was done relatively quickly and its un-betaed so please don't bash my grammar! This was just a little more insight into Tsuki so I hoped you like it! It'll be Kit's chap next and then I promise the other characters will turn up again! Reina wants to see you too~


	17. Chapter 17

I apologize for all of the mistakes in this chapter and for not updating for so long! Please forgive me!

Disclaimer: Atobe: Ore-sama's prowess was not invented my the slightly less magnificent Herondalefan.

Herondalefan: Um, Thank you?

Kitimo

We've played against each other our entire lives, Bunta and I. We learned tennis together and watched each other develop or own styles based on our natural skills. We even got addicted to cream and sugar together! We have played tons of matches but were any of them actually serious? Have we ever had a true match? This was our chance to see which one of us was stronger, to see which twin was the one on top.

"Seems that this is it sis. Are you ready for my tensai-like skills?" Bunta asked with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eye. For once I felt a foreign feeling on my face. The edges of my mouth were tilted downwards and my brow was furrowed. I believe some people call this frowning? Bunta's smile faltered when he saw my expression.

The truth was maybe I didn't want to know which one of us was the better tennis player. I preferred staying in the dark in this case thank you very much. But I could tell Bunta wanted to know and if that was the case then I'd bear with it. I'd give it my best because my twin deserved that. He deserved to know. I met his confused gaze.

"Let's give it our best." He understood the meaning behind my words and gave a nod with a genuine soft smile. Then he placed the head of his racket on the ground and asked the dreaded question.

"Rough or smooth?" I tapped my lip with my pointer finger and gave it some thought.

"Smooth." He nodded and spun his weapon. Eventually the racket clattered to the ground and it landed on rough.

"Service." Bunta announced.

"End." I replied before bouncing to the baseline. It wasn't my favourite place in the world and I felt a little lonely without Kana-chan here with me but I sucked it up. Bunta bounced the ball a few times before he served and I took off from my spot. Lunging forward I returned with a sharp volley straight towards my brother and he just had time to dodge.

"Fifteen- love Marui… chan." The announcer said in a semi-pondering voice.

"When did you get so vicious Kit?" The eldest Marui asked in a teasing voice. I didn't even crack a smile. I was in the zone and nothing would get me out.

"Why don't you take off your weights to reduce the risk of getting volleyed in the face?" His eyes widened slightly at me noticing before he leaned down to take off his ankle weights. Then he proceeded with his wrist weights. After dropping the heavy restrainers on the bench he turned to me and his body turned into something more predatory as he got into position for his next serve. Now we were on the same terms.

Ven

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that just won't come out? That's what was happening to me… but with a certain tensai's eyes. Every single time I closed my eyes, BAM, Piercing blue ones that were a few shades off of my own were staring back at me. It was horrible! It was like his face was an earworm for my eyes.

"UUUUuuurrrggggg." I groaned and rolled over on my bed. The only other sound in my room was the sniffling of Mimi-chan near my ear. It felt like she was snickering at me. We'd had _two_ conversations and exchanged numbers and now this was happening. It wasn't right! No, scratch that, It wasn't healthy! Damn him for being such a tease! He saw through my act the second he opened his eyes, _he knew_. I didn't know how I felt about that. I acted childish and teasing but I knew what I really was, dark, damaged, with no small dose of narcissism (Thanks a lot Kei-kun). Yet he was completely fine with it.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I had to think of something else. Ryoma had phoned me about Hyotei. Kei-kun's team and his were playing next in the tournament. Somewhere in our conversation about tennis I detected a worry about his friend Momo that had been lifted. I knew I could never get him to say it outright but the indication was enough. He had invited me to come over to his house to see Marika because he got the feeling she missed me (I knew that it was him he was talking about) and that I should come over for dinner. Keigo had complained about how my 'bratty guy friend' was cutting into our sibling time but one threat to his precious stash of non-alcoholic champagne was enough to shut him up. So that's why I should've been picking out an outfit to visit the Echizen residence, not dreaming about a guy I'd met twice.

I decided to go for something less flashy (Or less Atobeish) so I grabbed a close fitting flannel shirt and grey leggings. Not that my hair colour helped much with the whole 'blending in' thing. Copper just wasn't a natural Japanese hair colour. I whipped the wavy, glimmering locks up into a ponytail before grabbing my ballet shoes. I don't dance much anymore but I had always thought that they were comfortable and looked good so I just kept many pairs of them on hand. I guess you could call them my guilty pleasure.

"Later Aniki, Kabaji." I called over my shoulder as I ran off the stairs.

"Usu."

"Goodbye heart breaking imouto." I rolled my eyes at my brother's dramatics (I was far too used to it between him and Ruka-buchou) and ran out the door- and straight into a limo. Trust Kei to make me arrive at a suburban neighborhood in style.

The ride over was a pleasant one. The roads were smooth and it wouldn't have surprised me if I had been told Kei had all of our most traveled routes repaved just so the ride could be that much more comfortable. The dull rumble of engines made my eyes droop until a flash of blue had me wide-awake again.

"We're here, Atobe-sama." To the servants of the Atobe household I was already part of the family. Forms signed or not.

I nodded to the driver before entering the temple grounds. I was finally at my second home. Marika and I had known each other since we were young children. Maybe it was the broken parts of us that brought us together (She was still with her 'family' then) but we became very good friends. Then Marika moved to America to live with her Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. I wasn't aware of her circumstances back then and I was terribly upset. She was the first person I didn't consider an enemy or a pawn. She was the one that opened me up to people (Quite strange really since she's antisocial) and showed me that life wasn't completely dark. She allowed me to actually be myself. Then just as suddenly as she had entered my life she was gone. My family whisked me away to England and I continued to learn tennis.

There, at a tennis club for those of high social standing, I met a defeated but stubborn boy who only increased my love for the sport. Kei-kun had always been an inspiration to everyone and I was no exception. Then came the tennis competition for juniors in America. Keigo was staying in England because he was making a name for himself in Europe (As was I but that's not the point) so he couldn't come but the competition was still fresh in my mind. Ryoma won the boys section of the tournament and the finals for girls came down to Marika and me. The Acrobatic vs. the Prodigy from Europe, a showdown of two best friends. We had a lot of fun that day, I won my first North American gold medal and my best friend was back. After that separation from each other we refused to be truly parted (Phone calls and emails are lovely things) and became doubles partners. Marika had the best sense for doubles out of anyone I knew and she often told me that she was lonely on the court without me beside her. Neither of us would play doubles without each other. We were a package deal.

I lifted my fist and gave a light tap on the wood framing of the traditional Japanese door. It slid open and the golden tanned face of my best friend peeked out. She smiled when she saw who it was and stepped back to let me in. I looked down and noticed her right hand was in bandages again. Her scars from her past weren't just psychological. Sometimes her old injuries would act up.

"Ven-chan is that you sweetie?" A motherly voice asked from inside the kitchen.

"Ah, It is Echizen-san." I answered. Echizen Rinko bustled out of the kitchen with a familiar heart warming smile on her face. "And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Rinko dear?" I just chuckled in response before following her into the sacred area of food. No, seriously, hers was to die for.

"Well if it isn't Tenisu no Purinsesu."* My eye twitched at Nanjiroh's teasing and I turned to him with a sweet smile adorning my face.

"It's wonderful to see you to baka Oji-san."

"Watch your mouth kanari ga ki!"* Rinko just laughed and a smirking Ryoma entered the room. All of us sat down around the table that was low to the ground (So different from my other home) and ate the food that Rinko and Nanako had prepared. When we finished my phone started to buzz and my eyes lit with confusion. Flipping open my phone I saw my text and I felt a pang for my friend. It was from Tsuki who had been a witness to the momentous moment. I handed the phone to Marika who peered at the screen curiously before her face fell into one of sympathy at the message's content.

TO: POT

FROM: MM

RE: ST

/Kit just beat her twin brother in a serious tennis match 7-5. She's not taking the results very well. I guess she preferred being in the dark/

Mei

"I'll make sure he takes it as a reason to work harder instead of taking an offense. There's no reason to worry." My brother smoothed the sheets of his bed down as he said this and glanced longingly out of the window. I could see shadows underneath his eyes and he seemed a little thinner. The knot in my chest tightened.

I nodded at his reassuring words and made a mental note to pass them along to Kit as soon as possible. Seiichi's eyes once again found mine and he had a prying look on his face.

"So why did you lose concentration during your match?" My eyes immediately fell from his and stared at a little spot that was on his bedding.

"Niou-san used his illusion to turn into someone…" I trailed off and risked a glance at my elder brother. His blue and purple orbs were burning into mine with such intensity that maintaining eye contact was impossible.

"Who did he turn into Mei?" I flinched at his intrusive tone. It was not harsh but I felt that it should have been. He should be lecturing me on weakness just like he would his team. But maybe I wasn't good enough to be considered an equal. I wasn't able to beat Niou let alone one of the three demons.

"You." I finally sighed. Seiichi just sighed and leaned back into his sheets. His eyes fluttered closed and he looked weaker than ever. I looked away, ashamed at what I had done to him.

"Mei look at me." Reluctantly I unglued my obsidian eyes from the fascinating flowerpot to my right and brought them back to his. "I won't be foolish enough to tell you to not worry about me but know that what Niou did was out of line. He attacked his only known sore spot but he did it at a sensitive time. Don't blame yourself for the way the match turned out." I nodded dumbly at his words but the knot in my chest didn't loosen.

"Besides," He laughed. "Niou sounds suspiciously like that Fuji Tsuki. If you can handle her I'm sure that dealing with Niou should be textbook stuff."

I thought I would just create another list of the OC's and their nicknames, family relations, etc. Note: because I'm trying to mimic Japanese as much as I can the family names (last names) are first.

Hirimono Ruka (Windfall Luca)

Third Year/ Captain of the Tennis Team

"Queen" via Ki-Rin population

Only child of a wealthy entertainment family

Amane Reina (Amane Queen)

Third Year/Vice Captain of the Tennis Team

"Lucifer's Daughter" via Ki-Rin population

Only child of a family that moved from Osaka

Marui Kitimo (Marui Changes)

Third Year/Regular on the Tennis Team

"Sweet Thing" via Ki-Rin population "Kit" preferred reference name

The twin of Marui Bunta and lives in Kanagawa

Fuyu Kanari (Winter Pretty)

Second Year/Regular on the Tennis Team

"Lady in Waiting" via Ki-Rin population "Kana" preferred reference name

The youngest child of a baseball crazy family. She has _many_ older brothers.

Yukimura Mei (Yukimura May)

Second Year/Regular on the Tennis Team

"Little Lady" via Ki-Rin population "Hag" via Tsuki

The younger sister of Yukimura Seiichi

Echizen Marika (Echizen Mallika)

Second Year/Regular on the Tennis Team

"Dark Angel" via Ki-Rin population "Rika" via Ven

The cousin of Echizen Ryoma and is currently living in his household

Fuji Tsuki (Fuji Moon)

First Year/Regular on the Tennis Team

"Mastermind" via Ki-Rin population "Tricksteress" via unknown "Brat" via Mei

The youngest sister in the Fuji residence.

Kyoko Venka (Kyoko Come)

First Year/Regular on the Tennis Team

"Princess of Tennis" via Ki-Rin population/Japanese tennis viewers "Ven" via Ven/anyone she threatens

*Princess Of Tennis. Her fans call her this and we all know how she feels about them…

*Pretty brat. For obvious reasons.


	18. Chapter 18

Long time no see! It's been what, three days? Since I last posted ;) Well this is the beginning of the Kanto Tournament for the boy's so I hope you like the meeting between Ki-Rin and Hyotei. Also, we are introduced to a new rival! Exciting.

Disclaimer: Atobe: Since Ore-sama's prowe-

Herondalefan: NO! THIS IS YOUR THIRD TIME DOING THE DISCLAIMER! I WANTED OSHITARI, WHERE IS HE!

Oshitari: *Tied up* Mmmghf!

Herondalefan: I can't work with these people! Clearly I don't own POT because the characters are not listening to me!

Reina

I may not have been a 'data tennis' player but every team needs an information collector. The Seigaku boy's team had Inui. The Rikkaidai boy's team had Yanagi and so on. I was the best at logically dissecting someone's play style so the job fell to me. That is why, an hour before I was supposed to meet up with my team, I could be found in front of my computer screen with the face of Kinjo Misaki staring back at me.

I had found an article on her winning the All Japan Jr. Title for her age group two years in a row, last year and this one. She was a third year at Rikkaidai and the buchou of their female tennis team. I remembered seeing her face at that competition but never got to play her. I had lost in the semi-finals against Abe Shizuka, the buchou of the Seigaku girl's team.

Kinjo's long silver hair was tied back in a low ponytail and shimmered in the sunlight and camera flashes. Her hard turquoise eyes were burning into the one's of the big shot handing her the trophy. There was a glint on her eyebrow that gave away the location of the stud that rested there. She wasn't smiling; she looked more like she was receiving something that she knew she would get. Kinjo had complete confidence in her skills, and she had reason to. The only reason Ki-Rin won last year was that Rikkaidai had made the mistake of putting her last. We lost only a singles match, the previous buchou's match. Kinjo had been merciless and had kept her pride intact when she stormed singles one.

I sighed and exited the site, favoring the one underneath it. I sat up a little straighter and leaned in a bit when I read the information on the page. It was a newspaper article from two years ago that reported a tragic attack on one freshman Kinjo Misaki. Apparently she had been walking home when she had been caught in a knife fight and injured. I thought about Kinjo's stoic attitude and her dislike for violence and figured it fit.

Typing another name into the search bar I tried to figure out who the new regular's for Shitenhoji were. I had put this one off for the longest since I was originally from Osaka. I didn't really want to know if any of my friends (or enemies) were on the team. But it needed to be done and I clicked on the homepage for the school. When I got to the regular teams I recognized a few from the boy's team, one of my younger friends was on it, but my breathing hitched when I arrived at the girls team. So _she _had taken over as buchou for the girl's team, and her loyal dog was fuku-buchou. They would both be a problem.

Rubbing my eyes with my fists I grabbed the phone and started to dial a number. I needed a ridiculously easy-going person to talk to.

"**Moshi moshi?"**

"**Hey Sengoku, this is Amane."**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kanari

"So are we all ready to go to the match?" Ruka asked the collected group of us Ki-Rin regulars.

"Hai, hai! Now lets go Ruka-chi!" Kit said excitedly. She had been bouncing like that ever since I told her we were going to go see Akutagawa's match.

"Kit-chan your so kawaii!" Ruka cooed and gave my doubles partner a big hug.

"Yes she's adorable, now can we go?" Reina asked briskly. She had been acting weird ever since she got here and I was getting worried about her. Did something happen?

"We should get going or we'll miss the first match." Mei said, backing up her senpai. Ruka gave her a nod and our team entered the tennis court grounds in uniform. Ruka said she wanted to see how good boy teams played against each other. Ven said our buchou just wanted to check out her Aniki. She was rewarded with laps to run during practice for that. Ruka also wanted us to go in our tennis outfits so any female tennis players (and male) knew that the best in the girl's league was there to watch.

I was just pleased that my friends were coming to my boyfriend's match. I had finally told the rest of the team about him and they had the reactions that were expected of them. Ruka started ranting about how her kohai was growing up, Reina was muttering threats if he ever hurt me, Marika and Mei wished me the best, Kit ate candy since she already knew, and Ven and Tsuki wrote something in a small book. That last one had me concerned. At least we didn't have to hide our affections at the match.

"Kana-chan, you're spacing out." I blinked and finally saw the hand being waved in front of my face. My eyes followed up the arm and found the face attached to the body. Kit was smiling at me and I was relived to find the others too distracted to tease me.

"Gomen, I was just thinking about how glad I am that the team took it well." Kit giggled and grabbed my hand, pulling me over to the other regulars.

The cheers of Hyotei could be heard now and I marveled at the vast amount of fans. They had more than us!

When you looked at the sides from the entrance to the stands, Seigaku was on the left while Hyotei was on the right. Yet neither of the teams was in their places. Then, between two buildings, I spotted the Hyotei regulars, their coach, and about twenty of the club's other members.

Ven ran ahead of us because she seemed to have pinpointed a silver haired individual.

"KEI-KUN!" She screamed and latched herself to his upper back.

"WHO DARES TO TOUCH ORE-SAMA'S… Oh, Ven it's you." Atobe Keigo roared and twisted trying to get a look at who was on his back… until he saw who was on it. The other Hyotei tennis members were staring at the sight of their buchou being touched and not suing.

"Atobe, who is this?" Their coach said, regaining his speech. Ven, who was still in her baby panda position, used her brother's hips as leverage and pushed off them with her feet. In a difficult acrobatic movement, she placed her hands on his shoulders and swung herself into a handstand position, then over him into a graceful landing. She landed facing him and gave him a quick hug that he returned before turning around and scanned the team that Atobe ruled with an iron fist.

"Sakaki-sensei, this is my imouto, Atobe Venka." Ven didn't smile or show any response of hearing her introduction. She just stared at the coach with those haunting eyes.

"Ah." Was all he was able to manage. Atobe looked back from where Ven came from and saw the rest of us standing there, looking amused. Well, he saw Ruka standing there, the guy had tunnel vision. He turned away from Ven to get a better look at our buchou and had a charming smile plastered on his face.

"Hirimono. It has been too long." He walked up to Ruka and kissed her hand. I vaguely wondered, between Atobe and Oshitari, if that was a trait that was ingrained into all high-class Hyotei men. Ruka buchou raised a perfect dark blonde eyebrow and gave him a soft smile.

"The same to you Atobe." The two of them were too busy in their own little world to notice that Ven hadn't stopped staring at Sakaki-who was now quivering under the force of her stare-and that it was getting a little awkward between the two groups. Jiroh and Kit knew each other but the boy was asleep on Kabaji's shoulder. That left one more relation between the two schools…

"It's nice to see you again Oshitari-san, Mukahi-san, Akutagawa-san, Shishido-kun… Choutarou." Said boys (save Jiroh) switched their gazes from Ven and Atobe to me. Something I was not very comfortable with.

"Kana! So this is your team." Choutarou exclaimed. He stepped forward and bowed to the members.

"My name is Ootori Choutarou and-"

"So you're the guy that's dating Kana-chan!" Tsuki said. She grinned at him in that mischievous way of hers. The opportunity of embarrassing me had woken up Ven from her trance and she switched her gaze to my poor boyfriend.

"Neh, He's very polite. Well done Kana-senpai." She commented with a teasing tone. I felt heat pool into my cheeks. Choutarou was the mirror image of me.

"EH! Atobe-buchou's imouto is on the same team as Choutarou's girlfriend?!" Mukahi cried. Maybe it was the mention of his name, or his kohai's personal life, but Atobe and Ruka were knocked out of their trance.

"So this is Ootori's girlfriend?" He looked me over and I felt like I wanted to disappear.

"A fine choice." I scrunched my eyes together and tried to hide my face with my hair. But white doesn't hide blushes well.

"Are you implying something Atobe?" Ruka drawled, drawing the spotlight off of me. Sometimes I wonder if she is heaven sent. Atobe smiled at her.

"Not at all Hirimono. I was simply congratulating one of my regulars. We might as well do introductions now anyway." He turned to us girls with a charming smile and an air of self-adoring.

"Atobe Keigo, third year and King of the Hyotei tennis club. And that's Munehiro Kabaji." He pointed to a large and silent regular.

"Oshitari Yuushi, third year and regular."

"Mukahi Gakuto, third year and Yuushi's doubles partner."

"Shishido Ryou, third year and the doubles partner of Choutarou-kun."

"Hiyoshi Wakashi. Second year and regular." A quiet boy whom I hadn't met the first time said. His eyes were still looking at me but I figured that was okay. He was the childhood friend of Choutarou after all. Then I realized that we had missed a name.

"Jiroh-kun, introduce yourself!" Kit demanded. Her voice must have sounded close to her brother's because the narcoleptic woke up immediately.

"Kit-chan, your back! I'm Akutagawa Jiroh, third year and a regular!" He cheered. The sudden switch caught most of Ki-Rin off guard but they brushed it off. We were used to weirdness. Hyotei didn't brush it off as easily.

"That girl was able to wake up Akutagawa-senpai!"

"What is she?" The whispers of the other boys were easily heard in the small space but Kit just figured that it was time for us to introduce ourselves.

"I'm Marui Kitimo. A third year and the doubles partner of Kana-chan!" She said with a smile.

"Fuyu Kanari. Second year and Kit-senpai's doubles partner."

" I am Hirimono Ruka. Third year and the buchou." She said with a charming smile.

"Amane Reina. Third year and Fuku-buchou." She gave them all an intense look and quite a few recoiled. She smirked approvingly.

"Echizen Marika. Second year and Ven's doubles partner." She spoke softly as she had tried to make her presence unknown this entire time. Atobe gave her a nod that she returned before she tried to become inconspicuous again.

"Fuji Tsuki is the name. First year and a regular." There were several echoes of 'Fuji!' before we moved on.

"Yukimura Mei. Second year and buchou's doubles partner." Silence met this. 'Yukimura' was an extremely well known name in the world of tennis and the resemblance between the two was unmistakable. Mei just looked on with a bored expression before she took Reina's hand and looked at her watch.

"We'd better get going Ruka-buchou if Marika-chan, Ven-chan, and the Brat want to greet Seigaku." 'The Brat' gave an impish grin to her choice of words before Ruka seized her friend's wrist to check the time for herself.

"You are very right Mei-chan." She turned to the King of Hyotei and wiggled her fingers.

"Later Atobe." She started to leave and we followed but Ven walked back up to her brother.

"Can you promise me not to hurt him?" She looked at him imploringly and he nodded.

"I promise." She grinned cutely in return before turning around and following our overly dramatic buchou.

So the two teams are now officially introduced! And who is this buchou and fuku-buchou from Shitenhoji? Kinjo Misaki will be playing a big part in this fanfic so keep a close eye on her. She's definitely… different. Please Review!


	19. Chapter 19

Please do not kill meeeeee! I became obsessive with Katekyo Hitman Reborn and I was too busy fan girling over Bel to write… Gomenasai…

Disclaimer: Herondalefan: Now, finally, I present Oshitari Yuushi!

Oshitari: Heh, Herondalefan does not own prince of tennis. Only the many (many) OC's in this fic. (Girl's teams were necessary)

Herondalefan: *Drools at voice*

**OC Team Introductions**

**Earlier that day in various locations…**

Hyotei

Aoi

Jiroh-senpai is often ridiculed for sleeping throughout practice but there are days where I can totally see where he is coming from. I was tired from the constant nagging of my parents, teachers, various "friends" and frankly all I wanted to do was sleep. That was how I found all 5"6 of me stretched out on one of the benches near the tennis courts in a light snooze. I was dreaming of a world where there were no expectations of me to finish my education or inherit the family business. I could skateboard whenever I wanted and become a first class waste of skin. But sadly like most good dreams, mine ended way too soon. I was startled awake by a petite blonde who was gripping my shirt and desperately shaking me.

A word about Hina-senpai before I continue. Normally she is a very calm and collected person only disturbed by her OCD and constant need to keep things tidy. But the minute something goes terribly wrong she goes into a panic attack. That was the reason we were paired up together, our contrasting personalities.

"Breathe Hina-senpai. Take deep breaths." I yawned as I handed the fidgeting girl her trusty paper bag. Immediately she keeled over and started puffing into it. I raised my arms above my head and felt my joints creak and crack. Fisting my eyes to rid them of sleepiness and slight moistness, I grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her upright. She was still trembling but her turquoise eyes were no longer darting around so I deemed it safe enough to ask what was going on.

"Voice mail… Buchou… Ruka…" I could only make out a few words from her pants but it was enough to put the pieces together. Buchou had gotten a voicemail from Ki-Rin's captain Ruka.

I sighed in irritation (the two rivals that had woken me from my nap) and I pushed my neon green bags from my face (specially done with permanent dye to piss off my parents). I wrenched myself onto my feet and wound my arm through my doubles partner's. Hina snatched my bag as I ran off, towing her behind me. My feet made echoing noises that resembled gunshots as I sprinted my way towards Sakaki-sensei's office.

When we reached it I noticed that it was ajar and pushed my way inside. Not only was buchou (aka Yamane Etsuko) in there but Atobe Keigo, Oshitari Yuushi and the ever-loyal Kabaji Munihiro.

"Ever heard of fraternizing with the enemy Atobe-kun! This is clearly jeopardizing our chances of winning nationals! DON"T GO NEAR H-"

"Hey~ Etsu. Just calling to let you know that I can't wait to meet you at regionals this year, I've got a couple of pre-regulars I want to put up against you to see if they have the heart to double a score. Also I wanted to tell Keigo-kun that I'm going to his game today and I can't wait to see him~ Don't bother calling me back, bye~." The voicemail ended and Buchou stared at the machine like she could melt it with just her eyes. I thought I should break the atmosphere surrounding the office.

"Well it's nice of her to go and see the game today." It was like the last tick on a bomb.

"IT'S NOT NICE OF HER IMBECILE, SHE IS TRYING TO STEAL ATOBE!" I calmly stared back into the prima donna's face and looked into her fierce hazel eyes with something close to a deadpan. Vaguely, I heard Hina flump to the floor and shove her face back into her paper bag. With her toe she straightened out a stack of papers that had gone slightly askew.

"Calm down Yamane, Ore-sama will not damage our chances of winning. But Ore-sama will not cut ties with Ruka-chan." He flipped his hair haughtily and Buchou started to mutter something about first name basis.

"Besides, The Hyotei Boy's team must go and take their win. Ore-sama will beat his ultimate rival Tezuka!" He snapped his fingers in a dramatic fashion and strutted out of the room with Kabaji in tow. I patted the big guy's arm in a friendly way while he walked out and Oshitari helped Hina up. She quickly smoothed out the creases in his shirt before thanking him and retreated back to my side. Her fingers clasped her bag so hard they turned white.

"We are going too! I will not loose to that ditz!" Buchou announced before grabbing our arms. My last thought was 'why me?' before I caught the unusually sympathetic glance from Sakaki-sensei and the door swung shut.

Seigaku

Sora

'whap' 'Whap' 'WHAP' **'WHAP'** "Ai don't hit the pinwheel so hard." I scolded my younger sister. She nodded blankly before pinching the base between her pointer finger and thumb before spinning the sparkling, rainbow coloured wheel again. I just shook my head at her before turning my face back to the sun. It was a warm day and I had finished the paperwork that Shizuka had neglected to do. Such was my job as fuku-buchou. I had to take care of my talkative but procrastinating friend, and that was combined with having to keep Ai in line! Mentally, I thanked Fuji-san for bringing the pinwheel for her. He had also tried to give one to Ryoma but the freshman had scoffed at the intention and had walked away from his chuckling senior.

"Onii-chan?" Ai asked cutely. I turned to look at her again and was met with a pair of large deep purple eyes framed by long chestnut lashes. I'll admit to being jealous of her eyes sometimes, they were just so _big._

"Eh?" I answered.

"Momo said during class today that he thought a ghost haunted this mansion near the edge of town but Kaidoh said he was making things up and that there was no mansion which reminds me how come we don't live in a mansion I think it would be cool but maybe Ka-san doesn't yet normally she thinks most things are cool like that bicycle and coat and cake you know I could really go for some cake right now maybe red velvet because that name sounds cool but…" I had to admit that her lungs were very impressive. Maybe those music lessons weren't such a good idea in the end…

"Ai-chan, Sora, There's something I need to tell you!" I turned around and spotted a certain brunette with her bright pink eyes running towards us.

"What is it Shizuka?" I asked curiously and her whole face lit up even brighter.

"I heard that one Momoshiro Takeshi saved Tachibana An from Atobe Keigo a few days ago!" Ai immediately leaned forward at the prospect of new information.

"Honto? That's so awesome of him! Did you hear anything else?" The two girls then launched into a babbling conversation on Momo and An's love life and how it was some sort of love triangle with a Kamio guy involved. I just let out a breath and collapsed back onto the grass. Sometimes I could really just go for some peace and quiet.

Shitenhoji

Meanwhile with **that girl** that Reina is so wary of…

Mao

The presentation paper was flipped over again in the dim light of the club room and I leaned forward and squinted to get a better look at the tiny and perfect script written on the paper.

"This is where Kyushu will strike next. They have always been strong in doubles but we are stronger! They will not be able to withstand our forces." A fist smacked into my Kai-sama's palm and I could see a excited glint enter Buchou's wine red eyes. I was in awe of her. Her perfect curly black hair, her decisive eyes, and her cunning mind. I worshipped it all!

"Hai, Kai-sama!" I breathed out. My brown eyes brimmed over with tears of affection and adoration; she was so amazing! The Buchou of the Shitenhoji girl's team's grin was feral.

"Come minion Mao. We have work to do." She called me by my given name! Such confidence and genius. Walking a respectful distance behind her I followed the leader out of the room and into the sunny open air. Briefly I saw her eyes linger on the boy's court across from ours. They always stayed away from us though, Shiriashi made sure of it.

"Kai-sama?" I asked, unsure of what had stopped her. I looked in the same direction as her and found what had ensnared her glorious attention. Chitose Senri, he was her obsession and in a way I loathed him for it. He didn't send her a glance yet she gave him everything. He wasn't worthy of her magnificence but maybe it was me who was blind and couldn't see it. After all Kai-sama knew best and I should never question her. We would win this year's nationals and I would help my idol win her prize.

Kiyoko

I leaned against the fence with my doubles partner and watched as our psychotic buchou and her faithful spaniel exited the clubhouse.

"Here come's the slave driver and her watchdog." Airi muttered. She twisted her hand into her short, pale, robin blue locks and surveyed the scene of the non-regulars laying half dead on the courts. Her amber eyes were in a permanent deadpan and she kept scraping her nails against a scratch lottery ticket she had picked up earlier.

"Hn." I replied and I pushed my black locks behind a well-pierced ear. Tennis players made a line up in front of the psycho but we stayed in our spot. We wouldn't move until we lost a match. She didn't have reason to make us move and order us around until we lost and that never happened, no, we wouldn't let it happen. We refused to get sucked into the dictatorship our buchou commanded. We would never give in to her.

Rikkaidai

Misaki

"Just sit down already so I can give you your daily read!" My fuku-buchou demanded in an annoyed voice. The usually mystical and calm girl had been replaced by a snappish demon the moment I refused to do a tarot reading.

"It's not going to kill you buchou." "Ours came out just fine." The twins commented. I gave Yasu and Ume my prodigy freshmen a 50% glare and the two went quiet. Then Miyu decided to resort to her puppy dog pout. It was all down hill from there.

"Fine." I relented with a sigh. Miyu smirked in self-satisfaction and shuffled her cards. Quick as lightning she spread them out of the table.

"~Pick three cards~" She said in her usual tone. I tapped three and she turned them over.

"The nine of wands, how suiting. Inner strength, stamina and the will to go on. A dynamic defensive card." I already knew I had those…

"The empress, a unification of mind, soul and body. How interesting." Again something that seemed obvious to me… Miyu was about to turn the last over when I rolled my eyes.

"This is ridiculous, Miyu you know I don't believe in such things." The dark brunette swatted at me and I made to get up and out of the chair.

"No! Don't leave or the spiritual connection shall fade!" She shrieked in a strange voice. I gave the fifteen year old a tired look but sat back down anyway.

"Huhuhuhu, Buchou doesn't know the basics of card readings."

"Kukukuku, It's a wonder that she still doesn't know after all of these years." I gave the twins another sharp look with slightly increased deadliness and both fell silent once more. But I could feel them smirking…

"~Anyway, back to the cards~" Miyu said in her misty voice again. I put my face in my hands and prayed for sanity. My fuku-buchou flipped over the last card then froze. A tightening in my chest held me as well for I recognized that card. It was the same one I had gotten when I was just a freshman…

"Ten of swords, to be annihilated." Miyu breathed out. Her eyes were filled with concern and sorrow when she met my stony expression.

"Oh Misaki." She started but I jerked up from the table, eyebrow-piercing glinting. I shoved the cards to the ground and replied to her pity in a hard voice.

"I do not believe in such naïve things." I stormed out of the room, the scar on my stomach tingling the entire time.

OC write up's will come out next chappie! Have a good week everyone!


	20. Chapter 20

And another chappie! To make up for last time.

Herondalefan: I give you Kabaji!

Kabaji: Usu…. Silence….

Herondalefan: Well then, I don't own POT only the OC's!

Tsuki

I have found that there are different kinds of awkward in different situations, the first and least uncomfortable being 'friend-of-a-friend'. You know that feeling when you don't know someone but they're good friends with a buddy of yours? And all you can find to talk about is that friend? Then there's the 'I-think-I-know-you-from-somewhere-but-I-can't-remember-your-name' awkward. This one is self-explanatory. No one wants to introduce him or herself and have to ask their name again. Finally there's the 'We-use-to-have-a-thing-but-not-anymore' awkward. Being stuck with your ex is just tragic. Sadly the vibe of all three of these, were coming off of Tezuka and Ruka-buchou. From what I could tell they had never had a 'thing' before but the fact that she was Atobe's girl was making it a tad tenser then it needed to be.

Thinking back, the cause of this atmosphere was Ven and Aniki. They were chatting easily when they both got this look on their faces. I've grown up with Syu-nii so I knew that look well; mischief was to follow. All it took was a few implications, some teasing, and a few supposed 'slip-ups' on Ven's part and the mood was very different from before.

I knew Kawamura and Eiji the best since they visited the most but I knew all of the regulars anyway. I had met them during the St. Rudolph match. Of course Hag-senpai, Kit, Kana and Ruka-buchou didn't have that luxury. For some reason Reina knew them… but then again, didn't she at least know **of** everybody? But ever since the mood had settled over the group, those who hadn't spoken to the Seigaku male regulars before joined in the tension. That left Reina and Inui talking about the psychological benefits of chess and critical thinking, the cousins were chatting to each other in a secluded corner, and the two manipulators watching the show with satisfied smiles. I almost-emphasis on the almost- was happy when the Seigaku female regulars showed up.

"Hirimono-chan, Amane-chan, Kit-san, it's been too long." A smiling and curvaceous girl said. She had long, curling, chocolate brown hair and starling bright pink eyes. A winning smile that was framed by full lips completed the television ready girl. She looked like an honor student who had been gifted with model looks.

"Abe-san. Always a pleasure." Reina responded. She looked like a calculating panda that had discovered a high school graduation poster. I was almost expecting Abe's shirt to read something like 'Diploma's, the key to the beginning of your successful future. Join Brenning High School now!' This girl was obviously a third year and had been gifted with early and fast acting puberty. Then again, Abe Shizuka was supposed to be the ultimate schmoozer. She was the nightmare and envy of every socially awkward girl in the Tokyo district. Abe was the kind of girl that got new fan clubs just by walking into a room. That was the extent of her relaxing and inviting aura.

"It's good to see you all." The gentle and sweet fuku-buchou of Seigaku, Yamasaki Sora piped up. It was a well-known fact that the girl had a kind disposition that was only enhanced by her gift of making drool-worthy pastries. She had been known to be bombarded by Marui Bunta on more than one occasion. Of course she had to be good baking and making treats with a younger sister like Yamasaki Ai.

"Ohayou! It's great seeing you all!" The grinning girl said. She was silly, random and so charmingly ridiculous that she had a fan club that was larger than her older sister's. Of course most wouldn't think they were related looking at them. Sora had dark eyes and ebony hair that was tied in a loose bun at her nape. Ai had choppy dark brown hair and dark purple eyes. Her hair always bore a butterfly pin with little jewels set in it. For every serene wave Sora gave off, Ai gave off a jumpy and eccentric one. For every difference they had, they made up with their unwavering loyalty to Shizuka. Everyone had always figured that Abe deserved respect just for keeping the second year under her thumb.

"Have you seen the new flavor of ice cream they're selling across the street from the courts! It's choco loco banana, but they still have all of the old flavors like bubblegum, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, green tea, and rainbow of course! Sora I want one! But should I get choco loco or rainbow? But bubblegum is good too! So is strawberry of course- I'm so confused! Chocolate's so good but then there's bubblegum…" I turned away from the girl's constant babbling and turned to the others. At least the appearance of Ai had taken away the awkwardness. Aniki and Ven looked a little putout though.

Reina checked her watch again (Abe and Ruka were talking) and tapped her best friend on the shoulder.

"They'll be starting any minute now." Ruka gave Abe a nod before turning to the rest of us.

"Since we don't want to take sides you know the drill. Ven-chan, Tsuki-chan, Reina and Marika-chan one side, Kit, Mei-chan, Kana-chan and I on the other." We gave nods and walked towards the bleachers. The boy's team had taken the time to slip away before us and the three female Seigaku regulars followed behind my group. The seven of us found a bench together (Our teams were relatively friendly) and sat down. We still grouped together but I was left to sit next to the buchou of Seigaku. Abe and I sat a comfortable distance away; everything about her was that way. Every movement was friendly; every word was pleasant, yet I felt as if she was trying to draw me in. To make me trust her so I could be used like a puppet. They may have only called her the 'ultimate schmoozer' because of the obvious differences between her and Seigaku's other buchou, but I felt as if that was spot on. I felt as if something was missing. I tried to make eye contact with my peers but Reina wasn't uneasy (or at least if she was she wasn't showing it) and Marika didn't trust anyone. Only Ven caught my gaze and we silently communicated our agreement. Something was just ever so slightly off with Abe Shizuka. Sora was genuinely nice so I felt fine with her and Ai was… well, she was Ai. She had somehow found herself chattering on about kimono dragons and pencil crayons. How those two fit together, I failed to see the logic.

I glanced over to see how buchou and the others were doing but I immediately felt a surge of pity for them. Yamane Etsuko, Hyotei's female buchou, had decided to show up to watch her counterparts. Yamane was a proud hazel-eyed girl with long, curling, blue hair. It was lighter than the Hag's shade but her condescending look, typical of Hyotei girls, outmatched any expression worn by my team. All of them looked annoyed, Ruka most of all, but they didn't look surprised.

Behind the disdainful girl was her prize doubles team. Kobayashi Hina, an easily worried girl who suffered from panic attacks and OCD with aqua eyes and a beauty mark, and Watanabe Aoi. Aoi had white hair and green eyes with edgy dyed neon green bangs. She was the indecisive and laid back girl whom I had spoken to on several occasions. Most easy-going mischief-makers had a built in radar to find each other. That was how Aoi and I met at an arcade and a will to win at racing games. Ever since we had kept in contact. I gave the cool girl a nod and a grin that she returned. She stuck out like a sore thumb compared to her fellow rich girls.

"Hm, I guess I should have predicted that Yamane-chan would be here." Shizuka mentioned. She too had spotted the demanding girl and her followers. And really, how could you not? The girl had an aura that rivaled Atobe's, hence her near obsession with him.

"It's not often that us big schools gather at a place that isn't our own matches." Seigaku's buchou observed. "If only Kinjo-san were here. Then it would be the Big Four in one place." The Big Four, Hyotei, Rikkaidai, Seigaku and Ki-Rin, we were the big competitors in Regionals. Whenever we gathered, angry words were exchanged, ego's blossomed and several broken bones followed. It was a miracle that Ruka and Yamane hadn't gone for each other's throats already. Our buchou always did have a difficult time leading our team and not being one of the key pieces. The other girl's always had a way of putting her down. Then she would remind them (ahem Yamane ahem) with her fist why she was a _power_ player.

"Yes, I'm crying tears of sadness over her absence. She makes everything so much more interesting." Either Shizuka didn't pick up on my sarcasm or she decided not to listen to it, she still smiled in assent. I guess she was choosing to ignore the many harsh words her and Kinjo had exchanged.

"Do you know the order of the players, Fuji-san?" Sora asked politely. I shook my head and she smiled.

"I do believe Oishi-san and Kikumaru-san are first in doubles two but apparently Ryuzaki-sensei got a phone call saying that Oishi-san's wrist is injured so Momoshiro-san is filling in." Shizuka gave an approving nod.

"If all goes well then there will be much growth in both of the players. I heard that Inui and Kaidoh are teaming up for the first time in doubles one. That will be interesting!" I raised an eyebrow at this development and I heard Ven and Rika murmuring to each other behind me.

"Inui-san and Kaidoh-san eh?" Commented Reina. She was staring down at the team through her dark bangs with an odd expression. She seemed excited and speculative at the same time. Sora nodded.

"Kawamura-san is in singles three, Fuji-kun in singles two while Tezuka-san is in singles one." Her dark eyes roved mine.

"Speaking of which, how come you didn't enter Seigaku Fuji-san? We would've loved to have you and I'm sure your brother would have enjoyed it." I briefly thought about Yuuta's experience there and sweat dropped in remembrance.

"Thanks, but no thanks Abe-san." The buchou pouted slightly and I turned back to the court. This was going to be a long match.

Gomen, gomen for more OC's! But it has to be done, the girls have to have schools that are against them don't they! So for your convenience I added all already named important OC's down below! So enjoy the mini bios to your heart's delight.

Ki-Rin

Hirimono Ruka: See chapter 17 for bio.

Amane Reina: See chapter 17 for bio.

Marui Kitimo: See chapter 17 for bio.

Fuyu Kanari: See chapter 17 for bio.

Yukimura Mei: See chapter 17 for bio.

Echizen Marika: See chapter 17 for bio.

Fuji Tsuki: See chapter 17 for bio.

Kyoko/Atobe Venka: See chapter 17 for bio.

Hyotei

Yamane Etsuko:

Third year and captain of the Hyotei girl's team. She has hazel eyes and curly blue hair. She is very proud and haughty, tends to be disdainful towards others, and has an unhealthy liking towards Atobe Keigo.

Kobayashi Hina:

Third year with aqua eyes, light blonde hair in a bun, and a mole on her upper lip. She stresses easily and worries enough for her entire team. She also happens to be OCD for neatness.

Wantanabe Aoi:

A second year with white hair, her bangs are died neon green, and olive eyes. She is relatively tall and has a very laidback personality. She is friends with Tsuki and has troubles making decisions.

Seigaku

Abe Shizuka:

Captain of the Seigaku girl's team and in her third year, has curly chocolate brown hair that falls to her shoulders and bright pink eyes. She is a very charismatic person that most find exceptionally charming.

Yamasaki Sora:

Vice-captain of the Seigaku girl's team and in her third year, she is the well natured older sibling of the Yamasaki sisters. She has inky hair in a high bun and dark eye's; she is a very good pastry chef but gets worn out easily.

Yamasaki Ai:

In her second year of middle school and the younger of the Yamasaki sisters. She has shorter choppy brown hair and purple eye's, she always has a butterfly pin in her hair. Very energetic and random she is the most childish acting person attending Seigaku (including Eiji).

Rikkaidai

Kinjo Misaki:

A third year and captain of the Rikkaidai girl's team, she has silver hair in a low ponytail and turquoise eye's, she also has a silver eyebrow piercing. A very serious and hard working girl that was caught in a knifing when she was a freshman.

Oonishi Miyu:

A third year and vice-captain of the girl's team at Rikkaidai, she has short and fluffy brown hair with smiling dark eyes. She has an obsession with futuristic rituals, especially tarot readings.

Komatsu Ume and Yasu:

First year doubles prodigies that are twins and are regulars at Rikkaidai. They are identical in everyway except for their laughs. Yasu is older than Ume by five minutes.

Shitenhoji:

Kai Tomomi:

The captain of the girl's team (third year) who has an unknown past with Reina. She is often referred to by others as 'the psycho' and has a habit of calling her obedient teammates 'minions'. She has an unhealthy liking for Chitose Senri. She has curly black hair and wine red eyes.

Tanaka Mao:

The vice-captain of the girl's team (third year) and is completely loyal to Tomomi. She refers to her as 'Kai-sama' and others think of her like a spaniel. She is completely obsessed with her captain. She has spiky blond pigtails and brown eyes.

Kuroki Airi:

A bratty doubles genius and second year regular on the Shitenhoji girl's team. She has wavy light blue hair and large 'deadpan' amber eyes. She is one of the few on the team that isn't loyal to Tomomi.

Mori Kiyoko:

A doubles master and second year regular on the Shitenhoji girl's team. She has short black hair and eyes and has multiple ear piercings. She doesn't say much but is one of the few who doesn't follow her captain.

So many~ I know! But these are the main girls on the other teams and then there will be no more surprises!


	21. Chapter 21

Ohayo minna! I am very proud of this chapter; we get introduced to two of the main rivalries! We get a flashback and a fight! What could be better?

Disclaimer: Mimi-chan: …

Herondalefan: *Watching with bated breath*

Mimi-chan: … tsu~

Herondalefan: *Eye's sparkle* KAWAII! I DO NOT OWN POT! ONLY THE OC FEMALE TEAMS!

Mei

I'm still not totally sure how it happened. I was so involved in watching the exciting match going on below us (Acrobatic wars are always interesting) that I didn't feel the tensions rising around me.

Wherever Ruka and Yamane gather, insulting words and passionate shouting is sure to follow. From what I can remember about what Ruka told me, her and Yamane have never gotten along. Hirimono Ruka is a prideful, ditsy and egocentric sort of person, there's no denying it, but Yamane Etsuko is disdainful and driven person who makes Ruka's pride look like a goldfish. She's obsessive verging on psychotic and keeps her entire team on the tightest leash I have ever seen; In other words an intense Type A.

This may contribute to the fact that her most lazy team member was counting the wads of gum underneath the seats while her partner was splayed across the bench, puffing into a paper bag.

Ruka also told me of the various times her and Yamane had crossed paths growing up. Apparently because their parents were in the same social circle they had to attend a lot of gala's and parties together. Since they were the same age they were always pushed to do stuff together but they were too similar in some areas and too different in others. Yamane had done everything from pushing her into another rich family's pool to kicking her underneath tables. Then again, Ruka had purposely tripped Yamane in front of the royal family.

The moment didn't get any better when Yamane finally crossed her fine line and was tackled by Ruka. Ki-Rin's buchou had her left hand fisted in Yamane's school shirt while her right wound back for a dangerous looking punch. To top it off, Seigaku's doubles team was finally pulling back so people were cheering and jumping around. This was a catalyst for the Hyotei side to cheer louder and resulted in chaos in our section. Kit and Kana were nowhere to be found and I'll admit that I may have let out a few unladylike words. In my defense there were much more T rated things going on near Ruka and Yamane if the hissing was any indication.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a boy wearing a Seigaku jersey (non-regular) with a cloth tied around his head stick his fist towards the doubles players on the court. The two boys returned the favor and I was reminded for a second about the first time Ruka and I had played doubles.

_**Flashback 1 year ago**_

"Match goes to Fuyu and Marui pair 6-1!" Kit and Kana high fived before turning to shake hands with my partner and me. I didn't even bother to learn the girls name; we wouldn't play together again anyway. I was never a tennis nut like my nii-san but at least I thought when I came to this school I could count on a singles position. But ever since I had taken my first step onto the courts I had been pushed into doubles pair after doubles pair. I was angry and frustrated. All of my partners were useless and barely knew how to play. Singles was nothing like doubles; I couldn't take both a Kana and Kit down. Kit's net play was my weak point and Kana was in the middle of developing a frightening serve.

I shook their hands and turned my back on the pathetic excuse for a doubles partner. As I was walking away I saw _her_. I had overheard some of the girls in the change room talking about my situation and how the buchou had requested it. It was that horrid blonde that was putting me in these situations. Hirimono Ruka, the queen of Ki-Rin academy and head of the tennis team. She was leaning against the school building, having obviously watched the match, and was looking straight at me. I tried to keep my face expressionless and not let anything through. If she wanted to do this to me then fine! But she wasn't going to get the satisfaction of seeing me squirm. Emotion still came through no matter how hard I tried. I silently pleaded to her why she was doing this to me. She paired Kana with Kit, a regular, right away but I was stuck with all of these side characters. Instead of asking her why I picked up my bag and moved to where the first years were practicing.

A second year normal player walked up to me as I was leaving the courts at the end of practice and handed me a piece of paper. I flipped the flap open and quickly red the curling handwriting on it.

Mei,

Meet me on court 5 right now.

Hirimono Ruka

I briefly debated mutiny but turned around and made my way to one of the farthest courts anyway. I pushed the gate open and examined the young captain. She was filled out for someone her age, her face just loosing the last of its baby fat, but her hair was in a messy bun depicting her actual age. It was a common trend right now. She was standing near the net bouncing a ball. She didn't turn around at my entrance.

"How may I help you buchou?" I said, adding a little more ice then necessary to my voice. The lavender eyed girl stopped bouncing the ball and just stared at the green sphere. She was staring at it for such a long time that I wondered if she was perhaps insane. Then she proved my theory by whipping it at my face. I could have grabbed my racket and hit it in time but instead I quickly dodged it. I finally got a good look at the girl's face since I had entered the court and was surprised to see the look on her features. Her eyes were wide but distant, unfocused, and her lips were moving as if she were muttering to herself. A few stray strands of dark blonde hair had fallen into her face and the narcissist wasn't bothering to brush them away. I caught a little bit of what she was mumbling.

"…Fast reflexes but has more of a self preservation instinct then an attacking one, they will compliment each other well. Not to mention the differences in weak points…" I felt my mouth pop open in an unattractive manner at her ramblings before I quickly came to my senses and snapped it shut.

"What are you blabbering on about? You throw a tennis ball at my head and you start treating it as an animal instinct?!" The second year shook her head slightly before her eyes focused and the sharp orbs locked onto my dark ones. My buchou patted her uniform in place before answering.

"Both styles compliment each other very well." She tried to explain. "Your weakness is the front and you are an intelligent player. You aren't one to go in for the kill directly, preferring to wait for your opponent to make a mistake. Your weakness is your lack of strength and inability to handle power players." I blushed a little at this. It wasn't everyday that you had your strengths and weaknesses thrown at you. But I still didn't fully get it.

"Whose style compliments mine Hirimono-san." She blinked a few times before a puzzled look crossed over her face.

"You still don't get it? Mine does of course." I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Was she trying to tell me that all of the horrible partners were there to pressure me to play my best? To reveal my style?

"I am a power player but I prefer to be near the net. It's more intimidating." She walked forward and grabbed both of my hands in hers.

"That's why I need you Mei. We are each other's strengths and weaknesses. So what do you say to being my partner?"

_**End Flashback**_

I had long forgiven Ruka for the terrible partners and crazed way she had tested me out. In a way I was kind of flattered considering she had never done that with someone else. We had been perfect for each other: her sporadic decisions and my level headedness, her strength and my intelligence. If our attack was a huge wave her tennis would be the crest, attention grabbing and flashy, mine would be the trough, subtle but will pull you under. That was the very essence of our pair.

Maybe Ruka only truly got along with people whom she was completely different from. Reina and I were closest to her and we were both so different in our own ways. Her and Yamane were too alike to get along. Even if Yamane was the better tennis player skills wise she should have thought ahead. That was the main reason why her face was now getting smashed into the mental benches that were flecked with blood; her nose had broken a while ago. Kobayashi had fainted from the sight of blood and an over load of stress while Wantanabe napped on the floor. A few minutes later when Kana and Kit returned with popsicles and immediately had to go back because of the gory sight.

I finally leaned over to the twitching corpse that used to be the buchou of Hyotei and pressed a few pressure points on her neck, forcing her to pass out. I pressed a few on the back of her head for good measure to make her forget today's events. The same procedure happened to her lackeys. Reina came over to our bench, eyes glinting strangely at the sight of blood, and pulled Ruka to the nearest washroom to clean and change her stained uniform. To add my own salt on the wound I slipped a packet of Band-Aids into Yamane's skirt pocket. It's always good to fuel a fire between nemeses.

Like the volume nob on a radio, the sound of the people around me turned up. Seigaku was cheering loudly; they had won. Hyotei looked downtrodden and dejected and I wondered how many students like Yamane looked down on the teams from other schools. They hadn't even won Nationals lately! Various students started to mutter pessimistic thoughts until a shout broke them out of their reverie.

"You guys are seriously doubting us? Don't be so fussy now! The one to win is Hyotei! Get your spirit's up and start cheering, you idiots!" The Hyotei cheering squad blinked dumbly before one sheep gained his wits.

"Hyotei?"

"Hyotei!"

"Hyotei! HYOTEI! **HYOTEI!**" And so the sheep bleated (rather loudly) in unison. The boy glaring at his team had short brown hair, intense purplish brown eyes, and a Band-Aid on his eyebrow. I found the backwards cap rather mongrel like, and Brattish, but his stern manner and drive I had to respect. He also had my best friend's boyfriend standing behind him, they were obviously doubles partners, but that had nothing to do with it (okay maybe a little).

I looked around me and realized that I was the last member of my team sitting among the bodies. Kit and Kana were sitting closer to the Hyotei team so they could see Choutaro better and the rest of the troublemakers were sitting with the Seigaku girl's team. I wasn't totally sure I wanted to join them, The Brat and Yamasaki Ai were in a discussion and I didn't want to go near that. Their lack of coherence might make _me _snap.

So I picked my way around the bloodied Hyotei uniforms and walked down to Kit and Kana.

Tsuki

It had taken awhile but I had finally put together the girl's way of thinking. It was hyperactive and wild but in between that I saw a mad genius. Her sister was always thought of as the smart and stable one while Ai wasted away on flighty actions and an empty head. It was crazy to think that this girl who could blabber on and on was anything but incoherent but I could tell that it wasn't lack of knowledge. She had _too_ much. So this is the result of an eidetic memory! The scientist in me couldn't help but be fascinated as I watched the girl adjust her bejeweled butterfly pin and chatter on to any from Aristotle to Pavlov. How come no one could see the possibilities her faraway and starry eyes could see? She was a dreamer gone wild and gifted to retain every memory, feeling and thought she had ever experienced. She spoke all the time to relive some of the pressure of all of the information! What a wonder was she… or rather… what a rival!

So finally the character of Ai is cleared up! She's just a misunderstood genius… Who enjoys talking… *sweatdrop* Ruka and Yamane (Don't worry she's not dead!) have a life long hatred for each other and we get to see how Ruka acts when frazzled. Please comment or like if you can, I would greatly appreciate any kind of advice!


End file.
